NEWSLETTER SPRING 2015 FRIENDS OF THE WAITE ARBORETUM INC. NUMBER 85 www.waite.adelaide.edu.au/waite-historic/arboretum Patron: Sophie Thomson President: Beth Johnstone OAM, Vice-President: Marilyn Gilbertson OAM FORTHCOMING EVENTS Secretary: vacant, Treasurer: Dr Peter Nicholls FRIENDS OF THE WAITE Editor: Eileen Harvey, email: [email protected] ARBORETUM EVENTS Committee: Henry Krichauff, Robert Boardman, Norma Lee, Ron Allen, Dr Wayne Harvey, Terry Langham, Dr Jennifer Gardner (ex officio) Free Guided Arboretum walks Address: Friends of the Waite Arboretum, University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, The first Sunday of every month PMB1, GLEN OSMOND 5064 at 11.00 am. Phone: (08) 8313 7405, Email: [email protected] Walks meet at Urrbrae House Photography: Eileen Harvey Combined Friends Christmas Party Monday December 7th 5.30 pm - 7.30pm WHAT’S ON AT URRBRAE HOUSE “Assemblage” an exhibition of creative basketry presented by The Friends of the Waite Arboretum and Basketry SA. Open daily 10.30 am – 4 pm: Sunday 14 February to Sunday 28 February, 2016. Official opening: 2 pm Sunday 14 February, 2016. More details at: http://www.adelaide.edu.au/ waite-historic/whatson/ Pyrus syriaca, Syrian Pear Table of contents 2. From the President, Beth Johnstone OAM. Jacob and Gideon Cordover Guitar Concert . 3. From the Curator, Dr Jennifer Gardner. 4. Friends News: Treenet Symposium, New Members. 5. Unveiling the Native Bee Hotel Signage. 6. Netherby Kindergarten Visit. 7. Crab or Flower spiders. Pyrus syriaca, Syrian Pear, Eileen Harvey. 8. Colours of the ‘Top End’, Ron Allen. 10. Rainfall at the Arboretum, Wayne Harvey. 11. Pangarinda Arboretum, Ron Allen. 12. The Arboretum in Spring. FRIENDS NEWSLETTER 85, SPRING 2015 page 2 WAITE ARBORETUM FROM THE PRESIDENT Jacob and Gideon Cordover Guitar Concert Spring is here and the evidence is all around us in blossom and fresh shoots. It is always such a cheerful experience to go into spring after a severe winter and the last one has been quite testing. One of the reasons for knowing that it is spring is the Treenet Symposium, which occurs early in September each year. The Friends once again assisted with the registration period and it was encouraging to see the enthusiastic participants arrive to attend the first sessions. A report of the event will appear elsewhere in the Newsletter. Quite a few members gathered in the Arboretum on the morning of 25th August to witness the unveiling of signage for the Bee Hotel, made last Gideon and Jacob Cordova year by Terry Langham. Dr Katja van Hogendoorn was on hand to talk The Drawing Room in Urrbrae House demonstrated about the variety of native bees using the very its very good acoustics on Wednesday 26th August handsome Bee Hotel. Katja has been very generous with a concert from the handsome and charming with her support and assistance to the Arboretum young Cordova brothers. and in particular, the Bee Hotel. We are all very grateful to her for sharing her knowledge. We are Currently residing in Barcelona, Spain, Jacob is also grateful for the grant from National Science recognised as one of the finest classical guitarists of Week, which covered the cost of the signs. his generation. The generosity that began with Peter Waite’s Gideon graduated from NIDA in 2010 and has donation to the University of Adelaide and the performed in theatres in Australia, the United States people of South Australia so many years ago seems and Canada. to me to have created an ethos that permeates the In this, their first collaboration, they came together precinct. to present their adaptation of ‘Platero & I”, the There are many present day examples of touching Andalusian Elegy by Juan Ramon generosity and one of the stand outs is the ongoing Jimenez. The concert interweaves Jimenez’ commitment of so many gardeners, who turn up beautiful prose with the evocative musical settings regularly each week. Another is the way that by Castelnuovo-Tedesco. Jennifer Gardner designed and built the labyrinth A century ago the Spanish poet and Nobel during a Christmas holiday period. The Labyrinth has Laureate Juan Ramon Jimenez wrote his beloved become a landmark for many people who regularly “Platero and I”. These stories tell of the life and come to dance, walk, talk and count the labyrinth. adventures of a young man and his donkey, There is also the ongoing commitment of various Platero, in their Andalusian village. garden societies and groups who work hard caring 46 years later, Italian composer Mario Castelnuovo- for the heritage roses, the Garden of Discovery and Tedesco, drawing from his experience as a film others spots within the precinct. composer, set each verse to music. All seventeen A recent example is the large amount of hard work movements reflect scenes of the friendship put in by Laurel Crouch and Tomai Martin to the between the man and his donkey, the change of neglected space behind the coach house. By dint seasons, children in the village, encounters with of very hard labour and sheer persistence, they gypsies and so on. Gideon’s beautiful modulated have created a very pleasant garden. pronunciations gave great life to the stories that are sometimes humorous and sometimes sad. Lastly there is the wonderfully designed and erected example of the Bee Hotel, with its handsome In the drawing room, the beautifully crafted and signage. No doubt there will be more examples in performed music coloured the narration and the future and we remain grateful for all the support brought the experience to life. It was an incredibly from all those who assist in so many ways. Thank you moving evocation of the marriage of music and from all of us. literature and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Beth Johnstone Beth Johnstone FRIENDS NEWSLETTER 85, SPRING 2015 page 3 WAITE ARBORETUM IN THE ARBORETUM - FROM THE CURATOR A small team of volunteers – Erica, Mauricio, Lucas, Khloe, Gloria and Erik are undertaking As I write this the Arboretum pears are a fine display measurements of all the Arboretum trees for an of blossom and the deciduous trees are bursting exciting new project. If you would like to join this with bright green new leaves. amiable group who come 9.30 am – 12.30 pm every The new version of the free Waite Arboretum App Thursday please contact me. (v1.1) was released in the last week of August with two more themed walks, 730 images all taken in the Arboretum, social media sharing on Facebook & Twitter, the option to choose a Mandarin version and improved functionality. My colleague Marian and I gave a presentation on the development of the App at a workshop at the Treenet National Street Tree Symposium held at the Adelaide Botanic Garden and there was considerable interest from the audience. Also at the Symposium, individuals and corporations which have made a significant contribution to Treenet were presented with Gold Leaf Certificates of Appreciation. Volunteers Marilyn Gilbertson and Dr Peter Nicholls were recipients for their assistance at symposia over many years. On 25th August three Waite Arboretum Native Bee Hotel (NBH) signs were unveiled by FWA President Gary, Tomai, Laurel. Photo Jennifer Gardner Beth Johnstone. The signs were funded by a Community Grant from National Science Week and In the Coach-house Garden, volunteers Laurel describe native bees and their nesting behaviour, Crouch and Tomai Martin, under the tutelage of brood cell closures and the corresponding species, stonemason Gary Stone, started building a gabion and acknowledge the designer / maker volunteer seat from local stone. A second gabion seat will be Terry Langham. The NBH has become a special made in the Garden of Discovery by members of feature of the Arboretum delighting visitors the Mediterranean Garden Society to complement especially children, as well as raising awareness of the water feature currently under construction important research on native bees being there. Each gabion will be topped with a redgum undertaken at the Waite Research Institute. You slab to match the existing seats and tables in the can listen to Terry talking about the project on a Garden of Discovery which is looking lush and lovely podcast of his interview on Radio Adelaide. https:// at present with wattles, grevilleas, pandoreas and radio.adelaide.edu.au/wp - c o n t e n t / banksias in full flower. uploads/2015/09/Terry-Langham_Bee-Hotel.mp3 Visits to the Arboretum by children are increasing with schools participating in the University of Adelaide’s Compass program taking our Indigenous Plant Use walk, Netherby Kindergarten children with parents taking a guided walk before picnicking on the lawns, and interest from other schools and Nature Play. I enjoy watching the wondrous delight of young children when they discover the native bee hotel, or the spot the Green Man as they play under the spacious enclosing canopy of the Port Jackson Fig Ficus rubiginosa, or stroke the trunk of the Paperbark Melaleuca styphelioides and spy a Acacia decora, Western Silver Wattle. delicate, beautifully Photo Jennifer Gardner. camouflaged spider, or Wattles display splashes of gold in the NW corner of rest on the robust roots of the Arboretum too and Channel 7 recently filmed the iconic Dragon Tree an evening weather forecast with our Western Silver Dracaena draco . Wattle Acacia decora striking in bloom against a Children are remarkably backdrop of the floodlit Lemon-scented Gums observant when they along Walter Young Avenue. connect to nature. Jennifer Gardner Netherby Kindy children at the Bee Hotel. Photo Khloe Xu. FRIENDS NEWSLETTER 85, SPRING 2015 page 4 WAITE ARBORETUM FRIENDS OF THE WAITE ARBORETUM NEWS Treenet at the Adelaide Botanic Garden About 140 people from the National Treenet Street Christmas Gift Idea Tree Symposium joined a Guided Walk in the The Friends of the Waite Arboretum are seeking Adelaide Botanic Garden.