Spring in the Sanctuary Gardens

It's spring again and the Sanctuary gardens are flowering beautifully!

Fresh pickings for the possums in care. Roses are a possum favourite in the Valley. 

Christmas plantings of petunias at the Sanctuary gate in readiness for the upcoming 'Carols in the Valley' event on Saturday 5th December.

 

 

The roses and pelargoniums put on a gorgeous display at this time of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

Colour is everywhere in the PVAS gardens.

 

 

 Visit us for an upcoming event and enjoy the beauty of spring at PVAS!

Native Wreath Workshop

By Chris R.  

 

With the success of our recent ‘Make a Foraged Native Bouquet’ workshops, volunteer and florist extraordinaire Emma organised a ‘Make a Festive Floral Wreath’ workshop on the 14^th of November.  

It was a wintery spring day in the Valley, but the heavy showers didn’t stop workshop participants gathering an array of garden treasures and their handiwork was spectacular! 

A mix of eucalypt foliage and fruit, proteas, kangaroo paws and acacia were just some of the species used in the wreaths with great effect and we are confident there will be some very pretty front doors coming up this Christmas!

 

Around the Sanctuary – Flowering Gum Trees

By Chris R.

Many of the native trees in the Valley this year were very late to flower, with buds not becoming evident until the new year. Come the end of January, however, the long awaited blooming was well worth the wait, with the Sanctuary’s  gum trees producing masses of flowers like never before! 

The marri (Corymbia calophylla) and red flowering gum (Eucalyptus ficifolia) burst into colour overnight, much to the excitement of the insects, birds and possums. They provide incredible forage for many of the animals in care – you can just imagine the excitement!  

After the trees' record flowering, the grounds of the Sanctuary are carpeted with a sea of colourful stamens. But it’s not the end of native treats as soon there will be copious gumnuts for the parrots – the natural delicacies just keep on coming!

The Beautiful Gardens of PVAS

The gardens at PVAS are beginning to burst into bloom this month. We want to share some pictures of the beautiful plants and flowers here:

The first mulberry appears on a tiny tree grown from a cutting

Spring in the Valley 2018

By Chris R.

Winter in the Valley was rainy this year, and became one of the wettest since our arrival in 2013. It has been magical watching the dam fill, the brook flow and to listen to the frog chorus each evening in the Valley’s bushland.

The gardens have flourished with so much water available and the vegetable and native plantings have grown incredibly quickly.  

The Vegepod has been a great asset, allowing a steady supply of herbs, cabbage, lettuce broccoli and beans for human and animal residents, without the need for chemicals to be used.  

The native birds are enjoying the amazing array of banksia and grevillea flowers on offer, sharing with the resident possums who also frequent the garden. 

With two busy bee days scheduled for October, we are hoping to plant beds of spinach, Chinese vegetables and silver beet to feed our 27 resident ducks who adore fresh greens from the garden. 

Festive Flowers: Western Australia’s Christmas Tree Nuytsia floribunda.

Each year in Perth, the Christmas season is heralded by the flowering of Nuytsia floribunda, the Western Australian Christmas Tree. Nuytsia floribunda is a member of the Loranthaceae family of parasitic mistletoe shrubs. The trees grow by attaching themselves to host plants by the roots. A tree’s host plant can live up to 150 metres away from the tree. Nuytsia floribunda trees are common in the Jarrah forest of the Possum Valley region in Perth's Hills. 

Nuytsia floribunda trees after a bush fire at Whiteman Park, Perth, WA.

Nuytsia floribunda typically grows to a height of between seven and ten metres and flourishes best in a bushland setting. The trees produce golden flowers for several months through summer and are a rich source of nectar for birds. They also attract insectivorous birds who feast on the range of insects drawn to the flowers. 

Bowl made from the wood of Nuytsia floribunda, by Marion Blackwell (in Woodhams, 2015).

Nuytsia floribunda grows only in Western Australia, being found in the coastal and inland region between Geraldton, Perth and Esperance. Unfortunately the numbers of Western Australian Christmas Trees have declined by 90% in the urban areas of Perth during the last thirty years due to land clearing and housing development (Wynne, 2014). Livestock and horses also destroy the trees, chewing the sweet, starchy tissues of the trunks and compacting the ground around the base of the trees with their hooves (Australian Native Nursery, 2015).

The Christmas Tree is of great importance to Aboriginal people living in Western Australia. A number of Noongar words are associated with the tree, including the name Mooja. The bark of the tree was used to make shields and the roots and gum are sweet and can be eaten raw. Nuytsia floribunda is also associated with the afterlife and it is believed that the spirits of the dead sit in the trees until they flower. The spirits then ‘move on to the spirit world, in conjunction with the easterly winds and fire, which take the spirit out over the sea’ (Ryan, 2015). 

Flowers of the Flame Tree and Yellow and Black Twiner (c. late 1800s) by Marianne North.

Nuytsia floribunda is named after Pieter Nuyts (1598-1655), a Dutch explorer of South Western Australia. He sailed the Gulde Zeepard (Golden Sea Horse) to Australia in 1627 and mapped the coast from Albany in Western Australia to Ceduna in South Australia (Ryan, 2015). The name also incorporates the Latin word floribundus, which means ‘profusely flowering’, a reference to the abundant golden flowers of the plant.

Historical documents from the 1830s reveal that the tree was known as a ‘fire tree’ by the Swan River Colonists. In the 1880s, botanical artist and biologist Marianne North referred to it as a ‘flame tree’ in her paintings.  The flowers of the tree were likely incorporated into the Christmas celebrations of West Australian colonists as they searched for substitutes for the English flowers they had traditionally used to decorate their homes during the festive period. 

Study of the West Australian Flame Tree or Fire Tree (c. 1880) by Marianne North.

It is difficult to grow the West Australian Christmas Tree in gardens and it is often not cultivated due to the challenges faced in propagation.  Botanist and seed collector Georgiana Malloy (1805-1843) recalls trying to collect seeds from Nuytsia floribunda in her diary. The seeds ‘ripened so suddenly and burst so fiercely it was almost an impossible task’. She lay bedsheets beneath Christmas Trees in an attempt to catch the seeds as they fell (Barry, 2015). 

Today, seeds and seedlings can be purchased from WA nurseries, however the seedlings require a host plant to survive. This may be achieved by growing grasses near the seedlings, but with time a larger host, such as an Acacia tree, will be required. If you have a bushland block, farm, or a larger garden with existing native Western Australian plants you may have a greater chance of growing your own Christmas Tree successfully. If you want to try, seeds can be purchased online from Kings Park at:
http://www.aspectsofkingspark.com.au/garden-and-outdoors/wildflower-seeds-western-australian-christmas-tree-543.html 
or through the Mr Fothergills online store:  
http://www.mrfothergills.com.au/seeds-flower/wildflower-seeds/west-australian-christmas-tree-wildflower.html . 
The birds of Perth will thank you.

 

Referenced Material and Further Reading: 
-Australian National Herbarium. Information about Australia’s Flora: Cultural History of Native Plants. Australian Christmas Plants. Online: http://www.anbg.gov.au/christmas/ 
-Australian Native Nursery. 2 December 2015. WA Christmas tree. Online: http://www.australiannativenursery.com.au/2015/12/02/wa-christmas-tree/ 
-Australian Native Plants Society (Australia). Nuytsia floribunda. Online:  http://anpsa.org.au/n-flo.html 
-Barry, Bernice. 13 May 2015. Georgiana Malloy and Nuytsia floribunda. Online: http://georgianamolloy.com/nuytsia-floribunda-west-australian-christmas-tree/ 
-Briggs, Jonathan. 23 December 2014. Jonathan’s mistletoe diary: The mistletoe that’s also a Christmas tree.  Online: https://mistletoematters.wordpress.com/2014/12/ 
-Corrick, M.G., & Fuhrer, B.A. 2009. Wildflowers of southern Western Australia. Rosenberg Publishing.
-Kew Royal Botanic Gardens. Maryanne North Online Gallery. Online: http://www.kew.org/mng/gallery/764.html 
-Ryan, John Charles. 2015. Griffith Review: Looking West. Essay: A very striking parasite. Online: https://griffithreview.com/articles/striking-parasite/ 
-Woodhams, Renae. 2015. WA Museum: 12 Days of WAM Christmas. Online: http://museum.wa.gov.au/community/groups/content/twelve-days-wa-museum 
-Wynne, Emma. 19 December 2014. Native mistletoe, Western Australia’s Christmas tree, declining in urban areas. Online: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-18/native-australian-mistletoe-trees-in-decline-in-perth/5976080