On Monday 26 February 2018 a group of HMA NSW members met at the Common Ground Bakery and Café in the outer Sydney suburb of Picton ready for an exciting day out in the area. After a refreshing cuppa we set off for Mal and Jan Morgan’s Glenfield Wholesale Nursery. Here Mal talked to the group about his many years of plant breeding and his interest in developing new succulents. Mal explained how he has a checklist of desirable attributes that he looks for when breeding new varieties. Mal and his partners John Oates and Graham Brown have 150 combined years of breeding experience. They are working together to breed plants that are suited to modern lifestyles.
Mal’s wife Jan then took us on a tour of the nursery with it is breathtaking range of succulents. Before we said our farewell thanks, Mal and Jan presented each member of the group with a Kalanchoe ‘Dorothy Brown’, a memento of a fascinating visit.
After a delicious lunch back at Common Ground we travelled to Glenmore House where the inspirational Mickey Robertson told us how she and husband Larry bought this rundown stone homestead and restored it while, at the same time, creating a stunning garden. Mickey’s story can be read in her book The House & Garden at Glenmore. Mickey took us on a tour of the garden and we were filled with admiration to see how it’s been designed to suit the style of the house and cope with the extremes of the climate (this district gets half the rainfall of coastal Sydney and much hotter and colder temperatures). You can find out more about Glenmore House on http://www.glenmorehouse.com.au.
We had a wonderful day thanks to the generosity of the Morgans and Mickey Robertson. We owe special thanks, too, to HMA NSW member Bettina Gollnow who did most of the planning and organisation of the day.
Pictures are by Anne Smith and Judy Horton.
