About Us – Australian Plants Society

The Keilor Plains Group

Purpose and Activities of the Group

The Keilor Plains Group is a local bunch of native plant enthusiasts living on the Western Plains of Melbourne and its surrounding rural fringe, and we welcome member from other APSVIC district groups to join us.

We are dedicated to:

GROWING Australian Plants, both indigenous to our area and native flora from further afield.
CONSERVING native plants in grasslands, the bush, along waterways, parks, other pockets of remnant flora, and revegetation of weed infested land.
LEARNING from each other, from age old wisdom to the latest research.

Come along to one of our meetings & see a spectacular
display of native plants.

Date: First Friday of the month (not January).
Time: Start 7:50pm, finish 10pm+ (after supper).
Venue: Airport West Uniting Church
Address: 72 Roberts Road Airport West 3042
GPS coordinate: 37°43’29.0″S 144°52’28.4″E

At Our Meetings & What We Do

Learn/Share We share knowledge of what native plants flourish well and which plants need special attention in the varied climates and soil conditions from a wide range of locations including Northcote, Broadmeadows, Essendon, Sunshine, Keilor, Taylors Lakes, Melton, Niddrie, St Albans, Greenvale, Footscray, Yarraville, Sunbury, Gisborne, Riddells Creek and the Macedon Ranges.
Books We have published a new edition of our own book “Plants of Melbourne’s Western Plains: A Gardener’s Guide to the Original Flora, 2nd Edition”, and
“Lantern Bushes of Australia; Thomasias & Allied Genera. (A Field and Horticultural Guide)” by Trevor Blake.
Expertise We are a friendly, very active group with a wide range of knowledge. Expertise varies from the complete novice to specialists, but we all have a love of native plants and an enthusiasm to share the benefits & challenges of growing them.
Guest Speaker Each month we invite a guest speaker to give a talk and slide show on a topic of interest to the group. Topics include anything from garden design to grassland maintenance, from WA in Spring to local conservation issues. Click here for more information on this year’s guest speaker topics.
Newsletters/Seed Bank/Library There is a regular newsletter, a library, a free seed bank, and native plants (propagated by members) for sale.
There is a raffle each month and the prizes are native plants donated to the group by members and nurseries.
Plant Table We survey the plant table, laden with clippings from members’ gardens and discuss what is flowering that month.
Excursion/Trip We plan occasional day excursions to places renowned for their native flora and other places of special interest.
Week End Trip We have an annual week-end away to Victorian Region in Spring, and every second year a trip to Alpine Region at the end of January.
Other Activities Some members regularly participate in replanting native plants and operating information/plant stalls throughout the region.

To become a member of APS Keilor Plains Group, you need to be a current member of the Australian Plants Society Victoria Inc. This gives you additional benefits:

Newsletters Four issues of “Growing Australian”(APS Victoria Newsletter).
Free Seeds Twenty four free packets of seed of your choice from a huge listing.
Study Group The opportunity to join study groups operating Australia-wide (e.g. Acacia, Grevillea).
Books The ability to purchase books by mail order at discount prices (APS Victoria Book Sales)
State Wide Meetings The possibility of participating in state-wide meetings & get-togethers.
Garden Visit Seeing lots of Australian native plant gardens and local reserves.
Fertilizer Neutrog Fertiliser products at discount price through its online store.

Australian Plants Society – Victoria.

Purpose and Membership’s Benefits

Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) is the national body of the group.
The Australian Plants Society – Victoria Inc. is one of the autonomous state bodies which make up this fellowship of enthusiasts. At a local level, members form district groups for greater convenience and contact.
The Keilor Plains Group is one such district group. See our links page for more information on the Australian Plants Society, other groups, and other useful native plant web sites.

The purposes of the Australian Plants Society – Victoria:

to promote and maintain interest in growing and propagating Australian plants in home gardens and public places;
to encourage the recognition and development of distinctive landscape styles and forms using Australian plants;
to improve Australian plants as garden subjects;
to monitor and encourage the strengthening of the laws for preservation of flora;
to encourage nursery industry to propagate and supply Australian plants to general public;
to support all information received by the Society on methods of propagation and of the sources of supply of plants and seeds available for distribution and to publish such information from time to time;
to establish and encourage district groups;
to encourage and facilitate the conservation and study of Australian plants in the natural environment;
to establish and maintain a public fund to be called APS VIC PUBLIC FUND for the specific purpose of supporting the environmental objects/purposes of the Society:
1. the Fund is established to receive all gifts of money or property for this purpose and any money received because of such gifts must be credited to its bank account;
2. the Fund must not receive any other money or property into its account and it must comply with subdivision 30-E of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1977;
to further the dissemination of knowledge and to act as a source of informed opinion on relevant issues.