Andrew Gatty helping trimming the Yew hedge around the Druid’s circle. He is using the height guide he purpose built for the job.
River Banksia - Banksia seminuda
This is how tall some of the grass can get in a good year. That is James, 1.82cm tall, standing upright in the grass.
New arrivals getting ready for planting.
Plum, Prunus salicina, in flower. Peach, Prunus persica.
Some serious pruning in the Japanese dogwood, Cornus kousa, grove.
Sculpture donated by Barbara Maund, and enjoyed by the local birds!
The wallaby exclusion fence works well most of the time, however when the wallabies do get in, they enjoy themselves!
Early summer and the living is easy.
Then the really hot days arrive and some of the lush new growth gets a most unwelcome surprise.
And then before you know it, smoke from the bushfires in Northern Victoria and NSW is obscuring the sky.
This series of photos shows the erection of the “Pointer” rock. If one is standing in the centre of the Pivot, lined up with the Pointer rock then you will also be in a direct line to Uluru in the centre of Australia.
In mid November the Arboretum was opened up to the public.
After very little rain in the first half of the year winter rainfall has been excellent and the dams are again full to over flowing. The main disappointment this winter has been the arrival of a hare. The hare badly damaged every young tree in 3 separate groves, about 35 trees in total. So far I have been unable to find hare and get it escorted off the property. I have started guarding the smaller deciduous trees as the hare does not seem to bother the evergreens, so far!
A Snake bark maple after the hare had paid a visit. Note the remaining stump just to the right of middle of the photo.
Autumn is a great time of year to get pruning and other tree works done. The tree prunings all go onto the “Phoenix” fire. The Phoenix fire is lit in winter and then the ashes are mixed back into the “Potting mix” pile of soil which is used to plant new trees into.
An exciting new summer planting was a Ficus religiosa or Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree, which the Buddha apparently found enlightenment under, is a native of India. Given the frosts and cold winters we get in Deans Marsh this is an optimistic planting but “nothing ventured, nothing gained”. (Although it would be sad to loose this special tree) In autumn I will build the Bodhi tree a small frost house which hopefully will shelter it from the worst of the cold weather.
Luxuriant summer growth on an English oak tree.
SPRING 2018
It is hard to go past Spring as my favourite time of year in the Arboretum. (Although as the trees get more established Autumn is starting to put in a strong claim as the most attractive time of year.)
The Ancestors Henge in spring. Photo curtesy of Renee Wrigley.
A Sugar maple starting to show its true colours.
A soft and gentle spring was followed by a dry and hot summer. The rain just turned off for about 5 months with no 20mm rain events during that time. (It typically needs at least 20mm for the rain to soak in enough to reach the tree roots.) Still despite the big dry, and with a lot of hand watering for the trees less than 3 years old!, there were very few deaths. One of the benefits of creating an Arboretum on a former marsh is that there is an excellent water table not too far below the surface for most of the year.
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SPRING 2017:
A very wet spring but no losses which is a great combination. I can't remember a year when the grass has grown so quickly and thickly. I estimate that there are now over 2000 trees planted and quite a number are starting to actually reach the size of trees. It is very satisfying to see the Arboretum filling up and an increasing number of trees flowering for the first time.
Emerging avenue of crab apples in flower ( Malus floribunda)
Cockies have removed most of the flowers from tree top
Some of the pear blossom that survived the Cockies
WINTER 2017:
A very wet winter meant a lot of water lying around.
AUTUMN 2017:
Late Autumn or winter is my preferred time for tree pruning. It is surprising how much formative pruning is required. I also make the point of removing the lower branches of most species. My thinking behind this is that weed control is made easier. Additional benefits of removing the lower branches is to encourage the trees to grow upwards and to minimise snake habitat.
SUMMER 2017:
Summer is the time of year when any earth works are undertaken. The major task for this year was to excavate some new areas in the Land of the Giants to create a stock pile of top soil for future use. The areas where the soil was excavated from will fill with water in winter and be planted with a 100 or so scented paper bark trees. Hopefully the result will be what I am calling the Sunken hedge.
SPRING 2016
The first "Run for the Marsh" was held in October this year. The Run was organised by the community cottage and was a great success, despite the mud!
And they are off!
The photos below give an indication of how lush the growth is in a good spring. What is becoming clearer as time passes is how much the soil profile is improving. While the large areas are cut for silage and removed from the property this loss of nutrients does not seem to be a problem. In fact the removal of stock has given the soil and all the bacteria, worms, plant roots etc the opportunity to find a new balance uninterrupted by crushing/pugging hooves or sudden dumps of .... animal waste.
WINTER 2016
A good wet winter and very few tree losses. The mounds that the trees are planted into as well as a better knowledge about the best time of year for planting different types of species is definitely making a difference.
Yes there is a tree in amongst all that grass somewhere
Weeds surrounding a small tree pushed flat for spraying
The overflow to the main dam shows how much water was moving through the system this winter.
AUTUMN 2016
The Henge has survived a couple of winters so far without the rock walls collapsing as predicted by many. Fingers crossed that this remains the case.
The Ancestors Henge in panorama
An old Google image taken just after the hay had been cut hence the white colouring
SUMMER 2016
A kinder, lets hot more rain, summer meant that the trees have made good progress this year.
SPRING 2015
I held the open day in November this year and there was a good turn out of about 150 people. I imagine as more tree are planted and the existing trees get bigger it is likely the numbers of people at the open day will increase.
One of the disadvantages of the improved habitat along the creek is that Black wallabies have moved into my property for the first time. The main part of the Arboretum is protected by a Kangaroo, and wallaby, proof fence. However there is now protecting fence around the Land of the Giants and the Wallabies have taken a keen liking to the trunks of the coastal Redwoods!
WINTER 2015
I managed to get quite a lot of planting done this winter which would take my total plantings to approximately 60% of all the trees that are planned for the Arboretum. The ground hasn't got as water logged this year and the trees that survived last winter seem to be doing better this year.
AUTUMN 2015
I have been working on the Ancestors Henge on and off in the summer/autumn for the last few years and now it is basically finished. I will wait a couple of years for the rocks to settle and then do the last few jobs which mostly involve filling in the small gaps and straightening any rocks which may have started to lean out of place.
This year I am using two Gator loads of dirt to create mounds for each new tree planted hopefully this will help the trees keep their roots out of the water this winter.
SUMMER 2015
A particularly dry and hot summer lead to a lot of ground cracking on the flats. It also meant a lot of hand watering for the smaller trees. Surprisingly given these conditions I can't recall any trees having died as a result of the conditions which was a very pleasant surprise.
At least we had some good sunsets!
Well unfortunately this Spring came with the loss of nearly all the trees in 5 groves. A combination of water logging, frost and planting at the wrong time of the year has resulted a couple of painful lessons.
It is definitely a good idea to plant deciduous trees in Autumn but probably not any of the evergreens particularly if they come from up North.
That being said the trees that did survive, which was easily the majority, have done really well with the earth mounds the trees are planted into making a big difference. And of course another year in means the trees are another year bigger which is encouraging.
A nice wet winter has filled the dams and given me a good opportunity to plant out the “New marsh” that was created in the far corner of the Land of the Giants. Only wooley tea tree were planted as there were probably the dominant species when the marsh was a marsh.
John making a guard to protect young trees while spraying for weeds
Planting:
I decided to undertake the largest single years planting this year and the majority of that planting happened this Autumn. Having had plenty of practice over previous years this years planting went very smoothly despite the large numbers. The idea of using islands of dirt in which to plant the trees has not only helped ensure the trees don’t drown during winter but make the actual planting of the trees quick and easy. I am fortunate that I was very careful about stock piling any spare topsoil thoughout the previous years. Without a very large existing store of topsoil the “Island project” would simply have not been feasible.
Autumn break:
We had a lovely soft and early Autumn break in the weather which made for very pleasant working conditions in the Arboretum.
Autumn break:
We had a lovely soft and early Autumn break in the weather which made for very pleasant working conditions in the Arboretum.
SUMMER 2014
Summer heat:
Summer this year wasn't too bad in terms of long periods without rain, the last couple of years we have gone for a number of months with extremely little rain. However we did have 4 days in a row with temperatures over 40 Celsius on each day. I was somewhat amazed that only the very young Nothofagus cunninghamii died. It is amazing how tough nature can be especially as there are a large number, most?, of tree species planted at the Arboretum that would never encounter a temperature any where near 40C in their natural environment.
Check out the picture of the Paulownia fargassi below and in particular the size of the leaves, I would have thought that leaves like this would quickly burn being in full sunlight all day on a 40C+ day. No doubt the trees that had been in less than 3 years did appreciate the at times seeming endless rounds of hand watering
Paulownia Fargesii still happy after 4 days of 40C+!
James the tree farmer, in the Mountain ash grove
I do have a theory that one of the reason that there were so few losses is that even in Summer the water table below the Arboretum is fairly high and if the trees can reach a size where their roots can tap into this then they have another trick up their sleeves to beat the heat.
The Ancestors henge:
The major project over the summer was the next phase of the construction of the Ancestors henge. Last year the majority of rocks were put in place however I had to wait for a year, and in particular a wet winter to give the chance for the earth and clay interior of the perimeter wall to settle into place before the final setting of the rocks could occur.
Once again I had reason to think that just maybe I had bitten off more than I could chew, one of those “it seemed like a good idea at the time” situations. As you will be able to see from the photos below it was quite a process. However now that most of the hard work has been finished I am very happy with the way it has come together. Now for one more wet winter and rocks will be locked into position and only minor works such as lining the rampart with scoria and closing up the ramp access points will remain to be done, pheww.
FLASHBACK - GROWTH OF THE OAK GROVE
Every now and then I like to put a sequence of photos which show how the Arboretum has changed over the years. This sequence shows how the Oak grove started out as a bunch of seedlings which Marina could hold in one hand and how those Oak trees look in 2013 6 years later.
SPRING 2013
This year we had an absolutely perfect Spring. One could almost imagine having enjoyed an English spring. The temperatures were mild, it was wet but not too wet and there were only a few windy days. As a result the trees have burst into vigorous leaf and have put on excellent growth. Also for some reason this Spring there was minimal damage from unfriendly pests like slugs and caterpillars and no bacterial or fungal damage either.
Importantly there were virtually no losses due to drowning unlike last year, despite winter being wet and Frogwood becoming marshy again for the second year in a row.
It appears that the "Islands" that the trees were planted into this year have made a huge difference to the survival rates while any trees that were likely to drown without the assistance of an Island unfortunately passed on last year.
So far the Islands have been a great success but the next test will come when summer arrives and many of the newly planted trees will have many of their roots "exposed" to extra heat and dryness by being located in the Island.
Spring in the land of the giants.
Winter 2013
It was another wet winter this year which will be always welcome after something like 12 straight years of drought. In fact while the rainfall may have been somewhat less than last year the ground seemed to be wetter and the standing water lasted for longer. I wonder if this is because last year a lot of the water was still going towards replenishing the water table. At least all the most recent tree plantings have their own little Island to keep them out of the water. It was odd, but also reassuring to see some of the trees looking like little palm trees on those cartoon deserted islands.
Another impact of the wet winter is that a small number of the rock panels that make up the Ancestor henges have fallen over as the earth in the enclosing wall compacted with the added moisture. This is not overly concerning as it was expected to happen and the project is scheduled to be finished next March when hopefully the earthen wall will be fully compacted and the structure will be finished.
AUTUMN 2013
Once again the majority of planting took place in Autumn, except the bare rooted trees which go in towards the end of Winter, as it almost certainly will each year from now on.
This years planting focused on planting out the Land of the giants. The Land of the giants is located on the far side, east, of the creek and makes up maybe one fifth of the Arboretum. The Land of the giants is called the land of the giants because this is where some of the largest tree species on the planet are being planted here. Tree species include (and I believe are); the worlds tallest hardwood species (also the tallest flowering species), Victoria's very own Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash), the worlds tallest tree species Sequoia sempervirens (Californian redwood), the most massive tree species Sequoiadendron giganteum (the giant sequoia), the tallest conifer species Pinus ponderosa (the ponderosa pine) and the tallest deciduous species in the world Nothofagus alpina (Rouli).
Learning, hopefully, from the damage caused to the trees by a wet winter this year all the trees planted on the flats were planted into their own Islands of dirt. These Islands were created by tipping a gator load of dirt, put in the gator by an excavator. Fortunately I have quite large piles of top soil left over from various earth works that have been undertaken over the years. The aim of the Islands is to keep the trees clear of the water and also help avoid some of the bad cracking of the soil that happens in summer.
SUMMER 2013
The big works this year really were big by just about any measure. This summer should phase one of the construction of the Ancestor henge. For those of you who may not know, a henge is a large circular Neolithic structure constructed of earth and or rock where rituals and ceremonies were held. The henge that most people may be familiar with is Stone henge in Wiltshire England.
Apparently many of the ancient henges are believed to have been closely linked to ceremonies related to ancestor worship. As I have relatively recently lost one of my parents and I had long been looking for a feature to anchor one of the points on the Diamond lawn the idea for a Ancestor henge came into being
The big dry meant a LOT of watering.
The single biggest undertaking at the Arboretum was commenced this summer, the creation of the Ancestors Henge.
Hot and dusty! The first years work on the henge in progress.
SPRING 2012
As conjectured in the Winter update unfortunately all that lovely drought breaking rain has come at a cost and a large number of trees have not survived the inundation. Particularly hard hit were the most recent years plantings with nearly 30% of young trees not surviving . Very stressful all around! In addition to the new trees most of the avenue of Chestnuts died which was sad as they were starting to reach a couple of meters in height after starting out at about 300mm.
Unfortunately all the trees in the ground were planted under drought conditions and so when the big wet arrived neither the trees or the way in which they were planted was prepared. On the bright side the Cockchafer grubs which had been in plague proportions, over a hundred to the squaremeter in places!, have also drowned. When a test pit was dug not a single Cockchafer could be found, just a very "earthy" smell!
The other bonus is that for the first time in many years everything is properly green again which has put a smile on many faces particularly the farmers.
Sadly this line of Chestnuts all drowned during the big wet this winter. The Chestnut Avenue has now been replanted with the Chestnuts on raised islands of dirt.
WINTER 2012:
Finally the drought which has been running for about 12 years has finally broken and it certainly did get wet. In fact for a couple of months Deans Marsh become a marsh again. While it is wonderful to see so much water around I do have concerns that a number of the trees may suffer as a result.
AUTUMN 2012
This years was the first year that I started planting in Autumn rather than in Spring. As a result this years planting was much more pleasant both for the planters but also hopefully for the trees as well. For the planters the weather was much warmer and the ground was mostly dry, notice some planting pictures from earlier years! For the trees they were well watered in and as the ground was still warm it is hoped that they will get their roots settled in before their growth rates drop back significantly over winter.
Andrew Griffin helping out with planting.
SUMMER 2012
The drought continues which makes for unhappy trees and an unhappy owner who has had to do a lot of hand watering to keep the trees alive. Most of the grass has died eaten off at the roots by Cockchafer grubs which are in plague proportions in the soil at the moment. The soil is more like sand and cracking in the soil on the flats is pretty severe.
Yearly Re-cap
We had a fairly quiet year with no Open Day, but we did get a LOT of trees in this year, wow, the total count is now 1023!! ( check the "Tree Species Planted" page for details ) And thats not counting the natives in the creek, so yes, we have been quietly busy.
A couple of high points this year have been the local Deans Marsh Primary School holding their Fun Run here at Frogwood. A small school with just over 40 students, they made up for size by enthusiasm and had a wonderful day with the teachers and parent helpers who also enjoyed exploring Frogwoods pathways and seeing the young trees as they ran ( or walked, lets be honest :) past.
Another exciting bit of news is the 3 week tour of New Zealand by owner James Maund, who spent time visiting the famous trees of New Zealands south and north islands, coming home with new ideas and enthusiasm for the Arboretum and a genuine appreciation for the many Great Trees which are native to the New Zealand, and we are looking forward to next years first plantings of "Metrosideros excelsa" the NZ Christmas Tree.
Summer 2011
This has been a very wet Summer, so that means some good news and some bad.... The good news is most new and past plantings have thrived in the warm wet soil, but sadly some were just too wet and so we had some losses.
Still, a good season all round, and a great start for most 2010 plantings. As we head into Autumn already we are busy planning the next round of trees to be planted this winter, so the Arboretum is starting to take shape! Such an interesting thing to walk around with our vision and thoughts half in the "present" and half many years in the future..
Spring 2010
The sun is shining and everything is growing. New leaves are sprouting on all the new and established trees, and we have been busy with all the usual spring tasks, including weeding, mulching, fertilising etc.
Since July I have planted most of the remainder of the 2010 tree list including a grove of 14 Heritage Apples. The apple variety is called "Court of Wick" dates from 1790 and is an extremely hardy juicy sweet dessert red apple. Here is a fantastic quote about the Apple tree written in 1240 AD-
'Malus the Appyll tree is a tree yt bereth apples and is a grete tree in itself. . . it is more short than other trees of the wood wyth knottes and rinelyd Rynde. And makyth shadowe wythe thicke bowes and branches: and fayr with dyurs blossomes, and floures of swetnesse and Iykynge: with goode fruyte and noble. And is gracious in syght and in taste and vertuous in medecyne . . . some beryth sourysh fruyte and harde, and some ryght soure and some ryght swete, with a good savoure and mery.'
Bartholomeus Anglicus (Bartholomew of England) Author of On the Properties of Things (De proprietatibus rerum),
Winter 2010
This winter we have planted lots of trees, and still have more to come. Planted so far are:
15 Golden Wattle -Acacia pycnantha
10 Smooth Apple Gum -Angophora costata
13 Illawarra Flame Tree -Brachychiton acerifolius
18 Dawn Redwood -Metasequoia glyptroboides
17 Bull Bay Magnolia -Magnolia grandiflora
12 Algerian Oak -Quercus canariensis
PLUS, to be planted in the coming weeks are:
13 Sugar Maple -Acer saccharum
10 Queensland Bottle Tree -Brachychiton rupestris
15 Indian Bean Tree -Catalpa bignonioides
19 Turkish Hazel -Corylus colurna
2 Fig -Ficus carica
1 Morton Bay Fig -Ficus macrophylla
3 Monterey Pine -Pinus radiata
1 Oriental Plant Tree -Platanus orientalis
30 Pin Oak -Quercus palustris
17 Red Oak -Quercus rubra
Photo updates coming soon!
A bridge has also been put in this year to allow access to the other side of the creek, where the "Land of the Giants" will be planted.
Spring 2009
A bit late due to being busy in the creek, but we have planted a grove of 21 Lebanese Cedars -Cedrus libani. Located near the gates to the hothouse, you can watch these grow as you drive past Deans Marsh, they look like lots of little christmas trees!
Also planted were 4 Pear trees -Pyrus communis v.beurre bosc. These are planted right next to 2 huge existing Pear trees which are well over 100 years old, to form the new Pear grove. Situated next to one of the dams, it will make a lovely place for a picnic in years to come. And finally the remaining 4 Date Palms -Phoenix dacterlifera were planted at the southern terminus of the Avenue and the Loop, one for each corner of the crossroad.
Winter 2009
The circular hedge of Yew Trees -Taxus baccata has been replanted after the "Pivot" was re-built to have formal brickworks done in a perfect circle, with drainage for the Yews and compacted gravel put in a pathway around the outside, and inside the circle.
A gathering of over 100 people came to see the special planting by local women, all mothers to symbolise growth and nurturing, and was followed by a massive bonfire, with BBQ provided by Otway Prime, and firetwirling by the local group Southern Elements and friends.
"The yew trees we have planted together here at the pivot symbolise growth and long life. Both Druids with their belief in reincarnation, and later Christians with their teaching of the resurrection, regarded it as a natural emblem of everlasting life. Its capacity for great age has enriched its wonderful symbolic value.
So the yew has always been a symbol of death and rebirth, the new that springs out of the old, and a fitting tree for the heart of Frogwood Arboretum. We mothers and grandmothers of Deans Marsh bless these 12 yew trees and affirm our hope for the future, that they may grow and flourish for many hundreds of years, bringing strength, heart and sustainability to this magical forest of the future ..."
Summer 2009
In the centre of the English Oak Grove -Quercus robur we have constructed a central pivot with bricked edging circular bed, gravel centre, and entry points at North, South, East and West compass points. This will be planted with Yew Trees -Taxus baccata in a circular hedge soon.
December Dust
James in the Gator on a hot, dry day
September 2008 - Open Day
We enjoyed meeting many people who came to see Frogwood for themselves, and see the progress made, with the new Avenue trees planted. Everyone took a turn at laying a brick into the diamond lawn edging.
July 2008 - Winter Arboretum Planting
In the middle of July a small group gathered together on a misty winter morning to start the planting of the trees for 2008.
The majority of the trees were planted down the "Avenue" (see Mud Map) and positions had been carefully marked out using surveyors equipment. The soil had been ripped a month previously to loosen and encourage the rains down into the soil, as we had had a very dry Autumn. Planting had actually been delayed a month because it was so dry, but finally the rain came, the trees were delivered and we got them planted, mulched and fertilised, tree guarded and watered.
Avenue Trees planted are:
Also planted were 4 female fruiting Date Palms - Phoenix dactelifera, otherwise known as the "Tree of Life" at the beginning of the Avenue.
June
April
February
Boys playing football at the bottom of the main dam after a cleanout with an excavator.
23rd June 2007 - Open Day
Our Open Day was held in mid winter, where all who gathered helped to plant over 85 English Oak -Quercus robur, in a large circle grove at the heart of the property.
Inside the Oak grove was also planted a circular hedge of English Yews - Taxus bacata, with an entrance at the North, East, South and West compass points. A huge bonfire was lit on dark, and contained dozens of whole tree trunks.
Planting of "Little Oak", an English Oak - Quercus robur, which had a difficult start to life but was re-located to Frogwood as the official 'First Tree" on the first Open Day. This is the fourth, and hopefully the last!, time "Little Oak" has been moved.
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