Melicytus dentatus

The Australian tree violet (Melicytus dentatus formely Hymenanthera dentatus) is one of my favorite lesser known species endemic to the area I grew up.
While spikes have kept  this plant from being commercially viable I think with future breeding it could have a future in native gardens. The tree violet grows between 2 and 4 metres tall at maturity with a decent spread. The white flowers occurring during spring are absolutely spectacular on healthy specimens, and have a beautiful 'Australian' smell, useful in many gardens. Leaves are sporadic, sessile and occur usually on lateral branches. While normally in the wild this plant is spindly, caused by its constant fight for sunlight, with proper pruning in can become a bushy contrived plant. The major problem preventing this plant from achieving greater commercial success is the spikes (which are actually sharp endings of lateral branchlets) which can cut and bruise humans and cause injuries to dogs and cats. These are also a major fauna attracting species though, with the spikes offering protection to small birds from larger animals, nests being evident in some larger specimens. The below picture (courtesy of google images) shows the beautiful flowers and some of the spiky branches.

References
Yarra Ranges 2010, Yarra Ranges Council, Yarra Ranges viewed 28 of May, <http://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Residents/Yarra_Ranges_Plant_Directory/Middle_Storey/Shrubs_32-10m/Melicytus_dentatus>

eFlora SA n.d, State Herbarium of South Australia, Adelaide viewed 28 of May, <http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/texhtml.cgi?form=speciesfacts&family=Violaceae&genus=Hymenanthera&species=dentata>

Designing local parks for exercise

Being a keen jogger, the first thing I noticed about city living was the abundance of parks in my area (Box Hill South) designed for use by cyclists, walkers and joggers. With the amount of focus placed on healthy active lifestyles, their should become an even greater emphasis in new parks with emphasis placed on compelling and safe environments for exercise. Although Gardener's Creek Trail is a terrific example I think there is improvements that could be made to make exercising easier for the public

Increased safety

Numerous times with earphones on during my jogs, I've had near misses with traffic while crossing from one portion of a track to another. While traffic lights often help, who wants to sit and wait for a green man to flash for 5 minutes, breaking up a potentially fulfilling jog. On smaller roads I believe the use of pedestrian crossings is undervalued and when properly implemented offers a safe crossing of the road.

Another possible improvement is lighting. Running at night is often a scary experience. Solar lights offer a high straight up cost but little to no ongoing cost. Implementation of these could make exercise more available to those who work during the daylight hours and also combat drunken loitering in parks.

Greater signage.
Knowing how far you jog and then being able to work out how far and fast you have completed that is a great motivation for exercise and one that I used both in Gippsland and along Gardiner's Creek Trail. Few tracks implement distance signs though.


More taps and public toilets
The distance of Gardiner's Creek Trail I run (Station st to Elgar Rd) has no taps or public toilets and neither does the following portion leading to Camberwell. Without a source of water and no public toilets people (and their animals) are less likely to go for a walk or run. A diagram Ive produced (See below) has taps approximately a kilometer apart and public toilets along each stretch between major roads. Toilets are represented my the red dot and drink dots the smaller yellow dots, the black line represents the length of Gardiner's creek trail between Station st and Elgar rd. Personally Gardiners Creek Trail would be much more compelling with drink taps scattered along making it easier to go for a longer jog

Greater path maintenance
Sprained ankles are a constant hurdle while running on most paths. Damage from water, dogs and constant use has created paths with many pot holes dangerous for running, walking and buckled wheels. Greater maintenance of these paths would be a great asset and may convince people to use gravel paths through many of Melbournes parks, instead of running on concreted sidepaths

Perhaps future suburbs should look at Lake Guthridge and Guyatt in my hometown of Sale (See image below) which have both been transformed from original storm water catchments to extremely succesful walking/cycling/running  tracks.These lakes hit two birds with one by answering the public desire for exercise paths and also the need for storm water catchment. They also offer a useful home to wildlife. Both lakes are well serviced by drinking taps and public toilets.

Playing catch up

Strangely, in my opinion the Australian native plant world is yet to catch up to the rest of the world in the use of horticultural species for largely aesthetic purposes. The average exotic garden may be planted to induce a particular feeling, a dense show of colour, or purely to 'fit in with the jones', an Australian native garden seems to mean a water free, sparse, largely colourless display (or collection) recreating an 'image' or 'feeling' of the bush.

While for ecological restoration projects a non-diverse, narrow species selection endemic to the area may be acceptable , I feel that it is important for the home gardener to be aware of the diversity in Australian plants. A quick drive through any of Melbourne's residential suburbs proves this theory, with the most common native's to eye being water deprived, unpruned Callistemon's, planted singularly with no concept of field of vision that would normally be applied to an exotic garden. Rarely is there attempt to exhibit contrasting foliage or try anything different.

Perhaps tainted knowledge of the origin of these plants makes people assume how they should be used. Romantic visions of Australia portrayed in the movies usually show a dry, deserted  sparse vision of Australia with some people looking to recreate this feeling in there yards. This seems to be the minority though.

I believe the unmaintained, unwatered and improperly planted native garden stems from the myth of the care free nature of Australian plants. Every garden show I have watched during the last ten years promotes native species as extremely hardy, drought free super plants. While it is true that most native species will survive during periods of drought, these periods leave the plant looking scrappy and unhealthy, holding onto life by a thread. Unfortunately this is the norm. With proper care these gardens and a step up in quality of design and species selection, any native garden could be as captivating as any exotic garden I have seen. 

A lot of this problem also lies with the retailer. Consumerist habits have forced people to search for plants at larger (and normally cheaper) garden and hardware centers. These large retailers (and alot of smaller nurseries) usually wield the same advice as gardening shows and popular literature, promoting natives as care free options. Species selection is often limited along with imagination. People are perhaps less willing to use there imagination with lesser known species of natives that zero of there neighbors possess.

Even when limiting species selection to a local area, the pure amount of species available is astonishing. So there is no excuse for lack of species. Native gardens can be densely planted, imaginative, exciting adventures even in a small area that will still evoke a sense of nostalgia in Australians. Its time the natives caught up.

Improving the state of residential Australian native garden design and implementation is a great passion of mine and something I hope to make a career of in the future.

From the bush into the kitchen

Often food sources off Australian native species have been labelled purely as survival food, used in aboriginal times as forms of sustenance, but no longer perceived as tasty or desirable. While incredibly useful as survival foods, native berries, seeds and leaves can also be successfully used in a modern kitchen to create extremely tasty and satisfying meals, snacks and drinks that may make you think again about bush tucker.

The common Pig Face (Carpobrotus rossii), often listed as a weed in areas is a good example. The foliage of this common species can be used add salt content in roasts, and the extremely sweet berries when ripe can be used as a natural sweetener or eaten by there selves. Pig face is found all along the eastern coast of Australia. In a survival situation, the succulent foliage is a vital source of fresh water, in often salt ridden environments.

Another vital example of a native food substitute is several species of the family Prostanthera. Prostanthera ovalifolia, commonly known as the mintbush is indigenous to the east coast of Australia. It is easily identifiable by its strong mint smell and oval like foliage, as well as stunning mauve purple flowers. the foliage makes absolutely terrific jam and preserves, and is also an able substitute for mint in recipes.

Native's can also substitute for common vegetables, the rhizome of the native mat-rush (Lomandra longifolia) when cooked tastes precisely like asparagus and is extremely rich in nutrients. The seeds can be ground and used as a flour substitute.

These three species are just the tip of the iceberg though, with there literally being thousands of eatable Australian species, with applications in modern kitchen outside of survival uses. Most of these plants are incredibly tolerant of poor soils and most are drought tolerant. A future plan of mine is to create a garden purely consisting of indigenous eatable species, harvest able all year round.

It is important to consult a reputable source before trying any source of bush tucker though, with many species poisonous to humans.

Resources: 

http://www.ceres.org.au/bushfoodcatalogue

Looking into the past to find the future?

Recently while reading another native plant enthusiasts blog, I came across an interesting article involving one of my favorite genera of Australian Native plants, Eremophila. Eremophila's (commonly known as Emu Bushes) are an Australian (with one species endemic to New Zealand) genera normally growing in arid or semi-arid landscapes (although grow able on the humid east coast of Australia), known for the odd trait of seed germination usually only being possible after the seed has passed through an emu.

During times of large aboriginal civilizations, leaves of Emu bushes were used to create throat gargles and ointments for skin abrasions and also used during cleansing ceremonies. During the last decade, modern science has researched Eremophila leaves and found them to contain an extremely useful antibacterial agent, currently being developed to coat artificial joint implants, to ward off infection.

One wonders with this research (and many other similar stories), how much information can be gained by simply looking back at primitive civilizations, and our own backyards. Looking in to research of medicinal properties of Australian natives, and in particularly West Australian species, leaves the reader wondering what magical cure is lying in a leaf outside of Esperance. 

With this realization, I think a greater spotlight is put on preserving Australia's biodiversity. What if one of Australia's several flora and fauna threatened by introduced weeds and predators hold the answer to the next big breakthrough in cancer, or heart disease? 

Better not die wondering is my view. I find this thought motivating, and have always held the view of sustaining bio diverse native landscapes highly, even if it is for selfish means of improving mankind's health

Resources: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/01/22/2472270.htm?site=science&topic=latest

Background

Having been born into a family full of strong interest in native flora and fauna, I obviously have a preconceived bias of natives over exotic species. From a young age my mother and father, being from the far eastern Victorian town of Orbost, would explain some of the interesting subtlety's  of the various Australian flora surrounding my house in the township of Sale. They often explained there use, and beauty compared to the exotic species, especially disliking  the use of annuals and other commonly used plants, such as Agapanthus.

Although not knowing it at the time, these frequent talks spurred my interest in sustainable gardening, creating a landscape that will not only be enjoyed that season, but hopefully many years to come. In my adolescent years, I began to appreciate landscapes that were inspired by the unaltered bush that would often be just 200 meters down the road. This obsession began to expand to include Australian flora from other regions and eventually expanded to West Australian species (which is where my fascination lies at the moment). This interest led me to take up a job offer at a large wholesale nursery in the foothills of the great dividing range, near Heyfield, Victoria. This nursery, close to the alpine national park further developed my love of the bush, while allowing me to earn a living while continuing to learn.

After 18 months of both some of the worst and best times of my life, I left the nursery and decided to continue my education at the University of Melbourne, studying horticulture. This is where I stand at the moment. While studying I decided to open my own residential gardening maintenance and renovation business, which  I currently run on weekends and any time away from school.

Anyway I hope any readers enjoy this sounding board.
Lachlan

Resources

Wildtech Nursery (Nursery where I worked)
http://www.wildtechnursery.com.au/