Indigenous Garden

Did you know that in the surrounds of DNC we have a beautiful Indigenous Plant Demonstration Garden?  It has been laid out by an enthusiastic, expert group of volunteers and emphasises the three bioregions within Hepburn Shire.

Bioregions are the broad-scale classification of distinct landscapes based on climate, topography, geology, soils and vegetation.  Twenty-eight bioregions are recognised within Victoria, three occurring in Hepburn Shire:

  • The Goldfields. Beds in our garden representative of the Goldfields bioregion contain a selection of species that thrive in the poor soils and dry landscapes synonymous with this region.
  • The Central Victorian Uplands. These beds contain several species that occur on the lower slopes of hillsides, enjoying the moisture and fertile soils present.
  • The Victorian Volcanic Plain. Beds representing this bioregion contain a variety of grassland and woodland species including the Murnong or Yam Daisy, which was a staple food for First Nations peoples throughout the region.

“Every garden is a place where wild plants and animals shelter, visit or make their homes.  We can garden in a way that supports the unique and special plants and animals native to our area – what we call wildlife gardening.” (Gardens for Wildlife Victoria 2024)

Native? Indigenous? Endemic? An Australian native plant is a species that is native to Australia. An indigenous plant is one that occurs naturally within your local area and also occurs in other areas. An endemic species is one that occurs naturally only within a specified area.

We are grateful to the willing, expert volunteers who helped us create our beautiful indigenous plant garden especially Jeremy Neal (Wombat Native Plants) and Jill Teschendorff and d a heap of other ‘green thumbs’!

Come and visit our beautiful Indigenous Plant Garden (and have a cup of tea in the beautiful environment on a sunny autumn morning).

Diary reminder:  DNC AGM

Members and the public are invited to attend the DNC Annual General Meeting on Monday April 29 at 6pm.  Meeting notices have been emailed out.  If you would like to find out more about our organisation and how it works, why not come along on the night and meet the people behind the scenes?

Diary Reminder:  Community Afternoon Tea

You are welcome to join us at DNC for a community afternoon tea on tuesday, May 21 at 2:00 pm.  We’re throwing open our Paddock Room and we’ll have tea and coffee, along with something sweet and maybe something savoury.  Please let us know if you would like to attend by calling us on 5348 3569.

DNC Doctor Jokes of the Week

A man goes into the doctor and says, “I think I have hearing problems.” The doctor asks, “Can you describe the symptoms?” The man replies “Sure! Homer is fat and Marge has blue hair.”

A man went to see his doctor and the doctor said to him, “I have some bad news and some worse news for you.” The man asks, “Okay, so what’s the bad news?” The doctor says, “You only have 24 hours to live.” The man says, “Oh my god, that’s terrible! Wait a minute. What’s the worse news?” The doctor responds, “I should have told you yesterday.’

Did you hear about the optometrist who fell into his lens grinding machine? He made a spectacle of himself.

[If you’ve got a better joke, (and doesn’t everyone??) send it to  admin@dncentre.org.au  and we’ll publish it. (Remember, this is a family publication! ?).  We’ll even include your name if you wish – or you can protect your anonymity!]