Welcome to the Keilor Plains Native Plants Group
We are a district group of APS Victoria, covering the Eastern part of the Victorian Western Plains. Our aim is to study, promote, protect and propagate Australian indigenous flora, especially from local area, where many of the species are classified as threatened or vulnerable, because their habitats have been degraded/altered/lost.
Some of our members also grow and propagate plants from other part of Australia in their gardens.
For further information about Western Plains can be found here.
Eryngium ovinum
blue-devil
convolvulus angustissimus
Blushing Bindweed
bulbine_bulbosa
Bulbine Lily
xerochrysum viscosum
Sticky everlasting
Brunonia australis
Blue pincushion
Arthropodium strictum
Chocolate lily
Craspedia-variabilis
Common Billy button
chrysocephalum apiculatum
Common Everlasting
With the easing of Covid-19 Restriction, we are looking forward to start all the group activities (i.e. Monthly Meetings, Day Trips) again in 2021. For the latest update from Victorian Government, click here.
In the meantime, members can keep in touch by email or phone call, and connect/share on Facebook and Instagram:
On website: APS Keilor Plains Facebook, APS Keilor Plains Instagram and APS Victoria Facebook
Monthly Meeting
Visitors are welcome to attend our meeting. Further information can be obtained by contacting our secretary.
December Monthly Meeting
As an alternative to the regular monthly meeting,
an informal get-together has been organised for members to see each other again.
Date: December 4th, 2020, 6:30PM to 8PM
Venue: JH ALLAN Reserve
Address: Park Drive , East Keilor, VIC 3033
Melway Map 27 Ref D2
GPS Coordinate: -37.747664, 144.857802
Note: Take note of the different time and location of the informal meeting.
| January: | No meeting |
| February 5th: | |
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| May 7th: | |
| June 4th: | |
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| December 3rd: |
“Neil Duncan is a member of APS Keilor Plains Group who grows a lot of interesting and unusual Australian plants for the garden.
You can order some of the plants on this October 2020 list.
Just e-mail Neil and you can pick up plants or he can drop an order to you. Some are in short supply.
Email your order to neilduncan61@gmail.com.
Our second edition of the book 'Plants of Melbourne's Western Plains - A Gardener's Guide to the Original Flora'
Now available from local
indigenous nurseries and bookshops!
For enquiries about large orders, please contact
News and Events
At our Annual General Meeting on November 6th, 2020, Jason is elected as the group President, and Nicole as the Deputy President.
Links to Facebook apps: APS Keilor Plains (@apskp): |
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EVENT CALENDAR from APS Victoria
For information on upcoming events (District Group Plant Sale, Seminar and other events), this link will take you to Event Calendar in APS-Victoria Web site.
On November 16th, 2019, our member, Chris Clarke presented "Flora of the Western Plains" at a “Nature Stewards” course at Melton.
Check out Chris' beautiful and informative presentation (in PDF format) here.
Selection of Plants from the book 'Plants of Melbourne's Western Plains - A Gardener's Guide to the Original Flora'
(tree/shrub, aquatic plant, grass and wildflower/low shrub)
(Photos from NatureShare.)
Hover over the picture for more information.
Myoporum petiolatum formerly Myoporum viscosum
Sticky Boobialla
An attractive, fast-growing shrub (H 2m, W 2-3m) with dark green leaves. The new growth is slightly sticky. White flowers occur in profusion in winter and spring, followed by purple fruit. Grows naturally in escarpment shrubland. Can become leggy with age and needs to be pruned severely to rejuvenate. Suitable for well-drained soils in either full sun or semi-shade. Useful for screening, hedging or planting under eucalypts. The fruit is attractive to birds.
Carex inversa
Knob Sedge
A grass-like sedge (H 10-40cm, W 40cm). Common along waterways and drainage lines in west.
Prefers moist soils but will tolerate extended dry periods.
Austrostipa bigeniculata
Tall, Kneed or
Plains Spear-Grass
A tall, slender tussock grass (H 20cm, stems to 1.2m) with narrow rigid leaves and large, open flowerheads in late spring and summer.
Suitable for most well-drained soils in an open position.
Bulbine bulbosa
Bulbine Lily
A tufted perennial herb (H 40cm) with green, succulent, onion-like leaves and yellow flowers on tall flower stems.
Prefers an open, sunny position or lightly shaded situation in well-drained soils.
Plants die down to tubers in dry conditions. Flowers in spring for several months. New growth is attractive to slugs and snails. Best planted in groups. May regenerate in the garden by self seeding.
A widespread plant in grasslands and grassy woodlands.
Membership
Come and join us to learn and share the knowledge of the local indigenous flora of Keilor Plains and Australian Flora in general. More information can be found in Membership Info page.
More....
-
Organized trips to Native flora reserves and garden.
- A day trip on Saturday every second month.
- A week-end trip to visit an area in Victoria in Spring (September or October).
- A four-day trip to the Alpine areas in Summer (end of January) every second year.
- Quarterly Newsletter and APS Victoria "Growing Australian" magazine.
- Free Native plant seeds.
- Native flora for sale at the monthly meeting.
- Access to APS Victoria Book Sale.
- Optional subscription to ANPSA "Australian Plants" magazine.
About Us
We are one of the district groups of Australian Plants Society Victoria (APSVIC), which is a Member Society of Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA).
Our members live in the Western Plains of Melbourne and surrounding area. For more information about the group, go to About Us page.
In 2012, we published the second edition of the book 'Plants of Melbourne's Western Plains - A Gardener's Guide to the Original Flora'
Now available from local
indigenous nurseries and bookshops!
For enquiries about large orders, please contact
We can also be found in Facebook and Instagram.
NatureShare is an information sharing website which collects observations of remnant and self-sustaining flora/fauna in Victoria (but not plants in revegetation areas, garden plants or pets).
We are one of the groups that supported the creation of this website, and our members regularly contribute to its observation database.
In 2019, the observations in NatureShare were moved to iNaturalistAU. NatureShare website becomes an archive of the NatureShare collections.
Plant Info/Guide
(APS VIC and ANPSA)
A list of useful informations in APS VIC Plant Info page: (eg. Growing Australian Plants, Garden Design, etc.)
(Click this link to go to the webpage.)
and
a list of useful informations in ANPSA Plant Guides pages.
(Click this link to go to the website.)
- Garden Design
- Protect Your Plants from Frost Damage
- Pruning Australian Native Plants
- Best Time to Plant Australian Natives
- How to Select the Right Plant
- Australian Native Plants Guide
- Fire Resistant and Retardant Plants
- Drought Tolerant Native Plants
- Soil Types in Victoria
- Rejuvenating an Old Garden
- Low Water Usage Gardening
- Gardens Featuring Australian Plants
A list of useful informations in ANPSA Plant Guides pages.
(Click
this link to go to the website.)
- Common Genera & Families
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Plant Propagation
- Native Plant Nurseries
- Seed Suppliers
- Where to see Australian Plants
- Plant Name Changes
- Plants at Risk
- Plants for Fire Risk Areas
- Native & Exotic Weeds
- Articles on Australian Plants
Useful Links
Some Useful links to identify Native Flora:
- Vic Flora On-Line
- KeyBase of Flowering plants of Australia
- Wattle On-Line
- Small Eucalypts for the Garden.
- Australian Peas
Other useful links, such as local nurseries, flora and fauna information, can be found here.
