Project

Indigenous interpretive garden

Y Water Discovery Centre

2017  ||  This 200 m2 garden was a collaborative effort with GBCMA (Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority), the Taungurung clan, the local council, Y Water volunteers and the Green Army. Karen was invited to collaborate with the various stakeholders, design the garden, project manage and help with the installation. The twenty different local native plants in the garden have interpretive signage to help visitors learn their indigenous names and uses and make this garden a wonderful outdoors learning place.

NATIVE Weeping Grass LAWN

A lawn was needed here for gatherings, and to tie in with the rest of the garden, the lawn is made of a local native grass: weeping grass, Microlaena stipoides. This grass is often remnant in suburban gardens and landscapes, especially in shady situations where other grasses may not thrive. It has a soft weeping habit and makes a lovely and drought tolerant alternative to exotic lawn grasses. Like other native grasses, it is perennial, so although the seed is expensive to buy, the lawn will be long-lived. This grass will also self-seed if allowed to set seeds.

Here you can see the seeds being sown at Yea.

Plants

Twenty plants were chosen for this garden, for their significance to the Taungurung people, their ability to thrive without much care and also for their ornamental contribution, as if the garden looks attractive it will engage more people. Plants range from lesser known honey pots Acrotriche serrulata to the well known tussock Poa labllardieri and kangaroo grasses Themeda triandra. A range of yam plants were included, such as the iconic yam daisies (2nd from left below) and bulbine (far right below) and chocolate lilies (see below). A range of creatures enjoy the garden, including froglets from the adjoining wetlands and range of native birds, to European honeybees, seen here on the flower stalk of the striking grass tree Xanthorrea australis.

Cool burning grassland management

Existing tussock grasses were rejuvenated by Shane Monk, a Taungurung man, by cool burning.

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