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CSSQ
Field Trips - 1
©
2003 Copyright remains with Authors. |
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MERV's
PLACE Another superlative spring afternoon, clear and sunny on Saturday 5th October 2002 for thirty five intrepid members of CSSQ and Ipswich group to quit their collections and potting-on to tour west, to view the much anticipated collection at Merv W's. The rarity of the event tempted Bev S down from Gympie. Another very successful field trip to a challenging and wide ranging collection from succulents and cacti genera followed by a most convivial afternoon tea and a great raffle to round off the day.
Like many of our members I had never seen the extensive and high quality collection and found a challenge to grasp the range of genera and species and forms of plants. Probably we novices enjoy a sense of awe at the monstrous effort Merv put in to show his collection and plants, the three decades of diligent collecting, trading, propagation and cultivation to secure such well presented specimens. To get some sense of reference I asked Marie D when she had last seen Merv's operation and she said 1993 and readily admitted there had been a lot of changes since then. Gold medal for understatement. Lots of bouquets are due to Merv for an outstanding job and his pride in naming and labelling plants, surely everyone got a clue or two for their mystery plant at home with no parentage, or questioned some of their own labelling.
Merv - our host - looking none too shabby Paul K, with his trusty Kodak, barely had time to stop for tea there were so many plants catching his eye that he just had to record. Some interesting plants were available to buy but many with plenty of appeal were noted for another time. Among those with interesting form, flower and colouration for me were: Turbinicarpus goldii; Aloe herreroensis; Anacampseros marlothi and three mammillaria, M. karwinskiana, M. umbrina and M. matudae.
Finally from all members lucky enough to get to this field day our sincerest appreciations go to Merv and Janet for their hospitality and a most fascinating and stimulating garden with lots of wonderful plants. HEATHER's
PLACE Since joining the Society a couple of years ago, I have tried to attend (time permitting) the monthly field days. It's great to see the different plants people have in their collections. A small proportion is only ever seen at monthly meetings or shows. Many plants are too big, in-ground, or just unable to be transported. I like to visit collections I have not previously seen, as looking around, something special may be seen that starts a quest for that plant to add to my collection. Well, I arrived at Heather C's place and started to have a look around, when I was approached by Marie D to write the field day report. Lack of pen and paper proved no excuse as both were thrust into my hands. Walking around to the backyard which overlooks Keperra Golf Course, I wondered if any wayward balls had been lost in her yard. The east-facing cactus house is a fairly open structure covered in polycarbonate sheeting, receiving some afternoon shade from the garage behind it. Walking up the stairs beside the plant shed to the upper level, I found outdoor plantings of Euphorbia milii and other Euphorbia species. A good size Agave with a spent flower spike was in the same bed. It would have been good to see the Agave in full bloom.
Over near the wall of the house stood a plant stand full of potted up Echeveria 'Topsy Turvy', E. 'Black Prince', also Kalanchoe species that I can't remember (a fair guess they are destined for the Combined Show next year). Nearby was a Parodia magnifica in flower. Walking back down to the cactus house, I had to stop and have a closer look at an Agave victoriae-reginae growing in the ground by the edge of the shed. It was multiheaded (about 6 heads ) and about 500 mm across. Nearby a large-based pony tail palm was growing. On closer inspection, you could see it had been pruned just above the base and had produced multiheaded, fresh new growth. Perhaps the plant got lanky and needed refreshing. Great results were achieved. Also near the centre bench in the ground, was a sizeable clump of (I will put myself out on a limb and have a guess) Tephrocactus mandragora? Heather said it came up about 20 years ago. Cuttings were offered to all who wanted a piece. Needless to say a couple of pieces were acquired. Against the wall was a collection of Sansevieria, a special plant being form Malawi with its dark green curving leaves.
Most of Heather's plants were growing well with little sign of pests or disease. There were a number of large bowls on the bench. Two which stood out were Mammillaria plumosa and M. gemispina, both multiheaded and almost overflowing their bowls. Two Gymnocalycium saglionis var. la rioja also looked great, and being the main flowering time for many cacti, there were lots of mammillarias, astrophytums etc in flower. I couldn't help to notice some dark skinned Eriosyce and Copiapoa in a corner of the shed, as I have an interest in these. A collection of Gasteria was also there and G. nigricans var. marmorata was a stand-out plant (perhaps I will keep an eye out for one for myself). To round out the shed there were pots of various types of Euphorbia. Why is it that every cactus house you visit never seems to have spare bench space, but buy a new plant and there is always room for it?
Having finished in the cactus house, I had to make my way past pots, and also in-ground plantings of bromeliads displayed to show off their colours. Those that caught my attention were, Neoregelia johnannis x vulcan (a deep colour), Neo. 'Milford' foster hybrid (green/purple), Neo. 'Thelmas Choice' (green/purple splotches), Neo. 'Small Wonder' and Dyckia marnier-lapostolellei (spiky grey colour). Walking past a bed of caladiums I found it was time for afternoon tea. This was conducted with military precision with lots of yummy things to eat. Lots of conversation was enjoyed over a cuppa and the subject seemed to turn prickly. The afternoon rounded out with the raffle being drawn. I had looked over the prizes earlier and some plants would have made nice additions to my collection but luck was not with me today as I missed out (maybe next time). A vote of thanks was given to Heather for allowing everyone to visit her garden. A great afternoon was had by all who attended. KATH's
PLACE One of the advantages of going on repeat field day excursions is that you get to see what changes have occurred in a particular collection, and how the plants have progressed and developed since the last time you were there. In my case, this trip to Kath H's place in Northern New South Wales was eagerly anticipated. I had missed the last outing there, and so my only recollection of Kath's plants was of the visit before that, some four or five years ago. We left Brisbane bright and early and after rescuing the "Southsiders" from a bitterly cold winter wind, a couple of freeway stops to pick up "outliers" and a relief stop in Murwillumbah, we arrived to perfect weather at about 10.30 am. Still in shock and trauma of not stopping at the local pie shop, we were welcomed by Kath on the steps of the bus and handed a "plant quiz" to complete for the day. That woke us all up and after putting our gear down in the courtyard and catching up with the non bus travellers (Ian and Gary) everybody moved off in various directions to see what was on offer.
There have been significant changes to Kath's garden and plants since I was last there. New outdoor garden beds have been developed, new plants and plant areas have been introduced and older plants have matured and grown tremendously since my last visit. I'm also positive that there are additional extensions to the central greenhouse and extra benches in the sales area as well. Describing the whole lot is not easy but is probably best done via a written guided tour. As one comes down the driveway from the bus, there are two separate cacti gardens on the left hand side in the front yard. They are about five metres apart, roughly 10 metres in diameter and contain a range of both tall and globose cacti. My pick of the plants in these beds was a Melocactus in the bed nearest the driveway with a red cephalium at least 15 cm high. Other plants of note were a 0.5 metre high Astrophytum ornatum close to the driveway as well as an Espostoopsis dybowskii and a Cleistocactus strausii. In the second bed there were a number of Pilosocereus, Trichocereus, and Echinocereus that were all statuesque and could be used as feature plants in any outdoor landscape arrangement. Some of these cerei were multi-branched and at least 3 metres tall and must have been there a long time. There were also a number of Ferocactus, Mammillaria, golden barrels, and Melocactus growing in the two beds. Kath uses the biggest, clearest labels for her in-ground plants that I have ever seen, easily a 30 cm long and about 5 cm wide, silvery white with big black writing. It certainly makes it simple to view plants from a distance without having to guess what species they are and is something to consider for in-ground collections. If one carried straight on in the front garden past the cactus display, one comes to what looked like a recently developed bed full of bromeliads, all superbly presented and mulched. Whilst I know next to nothing about broms, they all looked in great shape, represented a range of different colours and provided a delightful contrast to the succulent beds. Providing shade for the broms were three 6 metre high Chorisia speciosa trees, their green trunks covered in huge fierce-looking thorns. I definitely remember these plants from our last trip but am sure they were all of about 2 metres high. Whilst they are a plant for the bigger garden, they must have been a picture when in bloom. This garden bed extends further where there are a number of mature adeniums growing in ground. They were leafless and obviously in winter rest, but from the size of the caudices were enjoying the winter sunshine as much as we were. Moving further on past the brom bed, down to the far end of the front garden is another succulent bed that I don't remember from the last trip. The central feature is another Chorisia, albeit one with a thornless stem. This bed is much larger than the other three combined and caters for a host of the larger succulents as well as more large cacti.
The typically crowded shelves of an avid grower There were a range of mature landscape aloes, such as A. excelsa, A. ferox, A. barberae, A. plicatilis, A. imalotensis, A. striata and A. suprafoliata, complemented by a number of large agaves, (A. ferox, A. victoriae-reginae, A. americana), yuccas (Y. elephantipes, both normal and variegated), pachypodiums (P. rutenbergianum, P. geayi, P. lamerei), Alluaudia procera and Nolina recurvata that provided the varying landscape vistas. Other smaller aloes, agaves and cacti species were freely interspersed throughout the garden. It must have been quite an interesting exercise to have planted some of those Nolina. There were quite a few that had a caudex of over a metre across, and with their multiple stems, they must have weighed a tonne. The pick of the plants in this area for me was an Agave standing about 75 cm high, with a similar diameter and an array of glaucous grey leaves in a perfect rosette. Opinions on the name were offered and divided, but not conclusive. Another special plant in this bed was what looked like a Sesamothamnus lugardii. It was that sort of bed really-it really required some exploration and time, as there were all sorts of little specialities like miniature Aloe longistyla and Echeveria 'Afterglow' mixed in or underneath the huge feature plants. Clumps of mat forming mesembs and various grasses provided ground cover for effect.
The sales tables fronted the green house and as normal were the hive of activity early on in the day. The green house itself has a combination of trays of seedlings, sale plants and collectors' specimens and was also a focal point throughout the day. The sales plants probably take up half the space in the greenhouse and a fair range of cacti and succulent species were available at reasonable prices. I looked at twice at a number of pachypodiums, and also some Adenium seedlings that were tempting. I finally settled on a couple of agaves, echeverias and haworthias that were on the outside sales benches. If one had the inclination and the money, in addition to the smaller plants that were on offer, there were also some interesting containers with mature plants on offer on the outside shelves - instant collection. Apart from the sales (which are a welcome component of any field day) Kath has a number of mature collectors' plants. Whilst I didn't look at the cacti in any detail there was a selection of succulents ranging from mesembs to caudiciforms to cater for all tastes. My favourites were an Aloe erinacea, a Pachypodium namaquanum and a large Kedrostis curcubit growing at the greenhouse entrance. There was also a tall shrublike Crassula about 175 cm high in full bloom outside the greenhouse that caught my eye and demonstrated what may eventuate if one is prepared to allow a reasonable root run in a fairly large pot. A pathway leads from the house to the green house. Along the pathway is a garden bed that almost has a central divide of large plants such as a variegated Euphorbia ammak, various cerei, and nolinas (similar size to those in the other garden). I guess given the extent of what else was on offer it was perhaps easy to overlook what was in these beds. But there were some particularly choice smaller succulents. There was an Haworthia labelled 'Ollasonii' that was huge, retuse and had stunning windows on the leaf tips. A collection of small Agave 'Kichiokan' were also in this bed together with some interesting Gasteria.
At the far side of the green
house is the "vegie" patch. In fact if it wasn't for one of
the questions on the quiz pointing us to the vegie patch I may never
have gone to investigate. I'm glad I did because apart from a few vegies,
this is where Kath keeps a number of her succulent collectables separated
from the sales plants. There were some very interesting plants in this
section, my picks being a mature Pachypodium horombense, an Aloe
albida and an Echeveria bed with some interesting cultivars. I found Kath's competition both cryptic, challenging and a load of fun. Our collective knowledge of plants and plant names and our tallies and answers were not quite as high as we might like to believe. Perhaps it is a feature that we should introduce on a regular basis on our field days-apart from the fact that I really enjoyed it, one was obliged to put in some effort and really look at the whole collection twice over to get some of the answers.
Kath has been growing succulents for 25 years, the last 14 of which have been on acreage. The acreage enables the larger and rarer species to be grown in-ground and shown at their best (Bombax ellipticum, Brachychiton rupestris). I really didn't have the time to find out too much about the local soils and climate and their effects on the in-ground plants over the years. It obviously gets colder here than in Brisbane as the deciduous succulents had all lost their leaves. The temperate rainforest in the area suggests that there is an abundance of rain-none of which appears to have harmed the succulents in any way. The soil in the garden beds appeared to be a red volcanic mix, which the succulents in particular seemed to appreciate. The range of plants on display and the size of some of those in-ground specimens make this a collection that I would urge members to make an effort to see. It represents most succulent genera, and I guarantee that everybody who made the trip will have found a selection of plants that are not readily available in Brisbane. Many thanks to Kath for having us and for all the effort made in getting everything ready. I look forward to the next trip to see how the plants have matured further. I hope it won't be another five years. |
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