Welcome to Watermelon & Waves our Coastal Community Garden Newsletter.
In this Season of Makuru, our winter, we take a look at another committee member, Dan Adams. He tells us his story of how he became involved in Coastal Community Garden.
Watermelon & Waves is brought to you at the start of every Noongar Season, of which there are six, including two summers and two springs. We are now entering into the coldest and wettest part of the year from June to July. Makuru is known by the Noongar people as the season of fertility as birds, reptiles and animals pair up in preparation for breeding. It is also the season for the blue and purple flowers to emerge, such as the purple flag (Patersonia occidentalis) which will be featured in this issue’s Native Plant.
What to expect in this issue:
- Members Story – Another committee member – Dan Adams
- What’s Happening in our Garden
- New Members
- Up and Coming Events
- Gardening Jobs During this Season: June – July
- What to Plant Now
- This Issues Native Plant – Patersonia occidentails – Purple flag
Members Story – A brief overview of our early beginnings
Dan Adams story –
As a migrant from the UK, it’s hard to feel a deep connection to the community because you have spent your childhood in another country. Being a professional in the landscape industry, the community garden initiative was the perfect opportunity for me to channel my skills into a local meaningful project, which has given me a sense of belonging within the community.
Having now established The Artisan Co into a resourceful local business, has provided me with the opportunity to engage and support this great initiative with tangible resources and support.
Being a part of this wonderful group of people, supporting a wholesome and thoughtful community project, provides me with a great sense of well-being and belonging.
I implore locals and businesses to get involved in this or similar initiatives. Through these steps, we can change our community landscapes and social dynamics, reconnecting people across ages, cultures and demographics rather than allowing them to drift apart further.
Let’s rebuild our personal connectivity through the transfer of knowledge between young and old, wise and learned, cultures and races, and regain those experiences that bought us closer together, rather than created distance and fear.
If anyone would like to chat to me about supporting the garden or the process, please reach out – dan@artisanco.net
What’s Happening in Our Garden – Work done recently
Thank you to all those who volunteered for the fundraiser at the NB Tennis Club; we couldn’t have done it without you. What a team! We acknowledge the generous contributions from Woolworths, and Farmer Jack for their $50.00 gift vouchers which have gone towards purchases for the tennis club venture and raffle of our gift baskets. The Greenleaf Pharmacy provided two gifts baskets for the raffle on our stall at the Biodiversity Open Day held at the Henderson Environment Centre in North Beach. It was a day sponsored by the City of Stirling as part of the WA Tree festival with talks on backyard biodiversity, gardening in our sandy soils, fire ecology and information on the Quendas who live in the adjacent Star Swamp Reserve. At the end of the day, CoS donated bush tucker plants which will be used in our garden for all to enjoy.
Raffle tickets were also sold at the Tennis club and then drawn by Mike Drew who had sponsored the tournament. Our first prize winner was E. Chua who was delighted to have won the two hours of free weeding donated by our committee member Shelli who has her own gardening business, Shelli-GardenWisperer. Second prize going to Felicity Farrelly from CoS. Both fundraising events raised over a thousand dollars for our garden ventures.
Sadly just after these events our huge water tank was stolen, not long after it was delivered!
The Artisan Co has also been very busy at the garden. Much of the pavers as well as the slab for the new shed have been taken from the parking lot to the garden area ready to be laid.
New Members:
CCG would like to welcome members who have so generously contributed to the work in our garden patch both financially and physically. Member’s fees continue to go towards establishing our garden, what an amazing job has been done thus far.
We received some lovely encouraging comments on our Facebook page in regards to our Watermelon and Waves link: “Thoughtful and informative newsletter.” “Thank you, I found your newsletter very well written, interesting and informative. I will join as sharing the information demonstrates you are community focused. Congratulations all”
You may notice you are unable to post comments on the website; this is due to unsolicited targets from scammers and the like. Comments can of course be put below the newsletter link on our Facebook page.
Up and Coming Events:
Dan, his team from The Artisan Co and community volunteers are working on the paved areas of the garden in preparation for the garden beds. This is all part of preparing for the gardens, Stage 1 of our development plan. There is a list of things on the horizon; if you are interested in helping out please let us know via an email.
Gardening Jobs During Makuru Season:
Make good use of the wet weather to clean out the shed. Also check tools; clean, sharpen and lubricate and apply linseed oil to wooden handles. Check handles are secure on shovels, spades, rakes etc. Check, clean and neatly store PPE (personal protective equipment). Wash gardening gloves.
Check all your chemicals and remove any unlabelled, out of date or damaged packaging. Do not pour down the drain or throw into bins; contact your local council to know how to dispose of safely.
Put you lawnmower in to be serviced and blades sharpened.
As the weather permits, this is the best time of the year to get into our gardens to reassess and tidy up. After being cooped up inside on those very cold or rainy days it’s a joy to make the most of the sunny weather when we can.
Cut back and tidy up the old and twiggy foliage of herbaceous perennials like chrysanthemums, leaving any new growth.
This is also the time of the year to start pruning:
- Deciduous trees and shrubs – compost leaves and mulch smaller branches.
- Roses can be pruned from late June to August.
- Don’t prune frost damaged shrubs and trees until the danger of frosts has passed.
If you haven’t already done so it’s a good time to check and clean your gutters. Leaf litter from deciduous trees may block the water flow potentially causing damage to ceilings and walls.
Hand watering is still permitted during the winter months but all reticulation and bores should now be turned off from 1st June to 31st August.
If you have a pond, cover it with a net to prevent falling leaves in and turning it murky.
Keep indoor plants away from heaters, reduce water to all pots inside and out.
Move sensitive outdoor potted plants into a more sheltered spot under the veranda or eves, this also prevents them from getting waterlogged.
Now is the time to check your compost heap. Make sure it is not getting to wet, if necessary place an old canvas over it to help keep the rain off.
Winter is not the time to fertilise lawns as they are dormant. Wait for warmer weather during spring.
This is a great time to install a rainwater tank in preparation for the drier summer days.
And you thought winter was a time to snuggle up indoors with a hot cuppa! Plenty of time to do that when the rain is pelting down.
What to Plant Now:
JUNE – JULY
Flowers:
Ageratum, alyssum, ameranthus, Aurora daisy, aster, begonia, boronia, calendula, California poppy, carnation, celosia, chrysanthemum, cockscomb, coleus, coreopsis, cosmos, dahlia (seed), delphinium, dianthus, everlasting daisy, gaillardia, gazania, geranium (seed), gerbera, mignonette, nasturtium, ornamental chilli, petunia, phlox, portulaca, rudbeckia, salvia, snapdragon, spider flower, statice, strawflower, sunflower, Swan River daisy, verbena, viscaria, waratah, zinnia.
Vegetables:
Artichoke, asparagus, beans, beetroots, broccoli, cabbages, capsicums, carrots, Chinese cabbages, cress, cucumbers, endive, herbs, lettuces, melons, mustard, spring onions, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rhubarb crowns, shallots, silverbeet, spinach, tomatoes, zucchini.
This Issues Native Plant: (for our coastal region: the Bassendean and Spearwood dune sands Perth)
Patersonia occidentails or Purple Flag is an attractive tufted, strappy leaf perennial with three-pettled violet-blue flowers which are held high above the foliage. occidentalis is Latin meaning western; referring to the geographical area where it is found, Western Australia. It grows naturally from the Murchison River to east of Esperance on the dunes and amongst granite outcrops. The Noongar name for this plant is Komma.
This perennial herb grows from a rhizome to a height of 80 cm and up to around 60 cm wide. Flowers, which open for less than a day, can appear throughout the year but mostly in late spring to early summer. Each flower spike may produce many flowers throughout the season. Their stunning display attracts native bees, butterflies and other pollen attracting insects.
This production of many flowers makes them an attractive addition to any home garden.
Plant Care
Having adapted to our high Alkaline, poor sandy soils and with its underground rhizome making it hardy and drought tolerant, once established it needs very little care.
Takes full sun to light shade in a moist soil. Keep the soil cool over summer through mulching which will also suppress weeds. Fertilise in spring with a slow release fertiliser to encourage blooms. Looks great when planted on mass as a border plant.
Propagation from bulbs, through division or seed sown in May and June.
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We are still working to include a calendar of events on our website. As a part of our gardening family, we would love to hear your thoughts and what you would like to see in our newsletter.
Thank you for being part of our gardening community.
Yours in the garden,
The Costal Community Garden team
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