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Notes from the garden – September 2016 The child should live in an environment of beauty—Maria Montessori Greetings to all in this first week of Spring. Throughout the grounds of the MCH, different plants are in bloom for the children to enjoy, including the parsley and rocket in the Kitchen Garden. It is high time for the final harvest to make way for new season plantings. At the same time, the children have been able to see the full life cycle of these edible plants. And both parsley and rocket put on a surprising floral display, much to the enjoyment of our native bees and other beneficial insects in the garden. During August, the children also picked and collected the seeds from one of the lettuce which was left to flower and go to seed. The In the Secret Garden, the Grevillea ‘Elegance’ just keeps on blooming. It has been in flower since late June! And over the last fortnight, the Leptospermum flavescens ‘Cardwell’ has joined the show. This shrub (a member of the Tea Tree genus) has a lovely weeping habit. It has fine leaves which are intensely aromatic when crushed, and produces sprays of small, creamy white, cup-shaped flowers along its branches from late winter to summer. New plantings of natives are planned for Spring to fill in a few areas of the Secret Garden but the seedlings will need to be protected from the attention of a scrub turkey. In the Seasonal Garden, the bed of Dianthus and Statice are in full bloom. In the corner of the bed, one lemon-yellow Snapdragon is also in flower, self-sown from last year! Thanks again to Majella Jackwitz for planting this garden bed. Also, don’t miss the delicate lilac and yellow flowers of the native Dianella caerulea, commonly known as the Blue Flax-Lily, which is planted to the left of the MCH entrance stairs. Over time the flowers produce small, edible indigo-blue coloured berries. On the other side of the steps, the yellow-flowered Hibbertia Scandens ‘Snake Vine’ is in bloom. Both of these native plants are favourites of our native stingless bees. Until next time, I hope you enjoy the gardens at MCH. —Chris Daly