Australian Plants Society SA

16/03/2026

Everyone is welcome, however the school does not permit dogs on site as they are a working farm and have quarantine restrictions.

14/03/2026

Notice from the COOTS group.

Just to advise, that only one person has replied to me about being a part of our next propagation course (Growers group 16) on the 21st of March, which indicates that Facebook is not being seen, so I will ask again.

If I don't get numbers, I will need to reschedule for another time.

Jeff Reid.

03/03/2026

Message from the COOTS conservation group.

On the 21st of March 2026, the Propagation Workshops will be happening once again.
This new group will be the 16th COOTS group.
As always, it will be held at 21A Richards Terrace, Goodwood, and will begin at 12 noon every Saturday for six days.
There is no cost for this valuable six (6) consecutive Saturday course; all I ask is for a gold coin towards coffee and cake.

What I need now are participants. If this is something that appeals to you, please email me at [email protected] to register your interest in the course.
I need around 10 to make it a comfortable group. Group 15 filled in two days, so see if we can better that. Those who missed the last session can now apply for this round.
The course looks closely at how to grow Australian Native Plants, and my intention is to look in detail at how best to do that being seed or cuttings.
There will be a field day amongst the courses, and a couple of very experienced speakers speaking on their particular subject.
Don't miss out on this opportunity, where your possibilities are quite extensive. Many of the earlier participants have taken on roles in the COOTS group, and I look forward to many more enthusiastic people joining them to make this progressive conservation group grow in the coming years.
See if you can join the COOTS propagation workshops, and join this fun experience.
Once the course is completed, there will be ample opportunity to bring your seedlings back to the shed to pot them on into larger pots ready to plant out, or sell to the general public.

Jeff Reid.

15/02/2026

Hi all, as part of the course for our new group (Group 15), we take the participants out of the comfort of the shed and do a field day visit.
I have contacted others in the APS, just in case, many more members, even others who would like to accompany group 15 to Glenthorne Farm.
I haven't been there myself, and Alan Burns has welcomed the group and me to see the progress that has been made at Glenthorne Farm over the last few years. I am quite excited to visit the site and pleased to be able to take group 15 as well.
Now it is open to as many as possible in the APS, and also family and friends, so even though it is short notice, there is still time to consider a visit.
Alan has provided the following directions for all of you.
I just wanted to let you know that we will meet at 12.00 noon.
Do bring some lunch and something to drink as well. Obviously hat and sunscreen are a must.
If coming up Main South Road, go past the Victoria Hotel, and turn right at the lights onto Majors Road. Follow the signs. The entrance is on the left, just past the IGRA College, formerly O'Halloran Hill TAFE. Follow the road in as it winds to the left down into the playground area. Plenty of parks there.
If coming up the Southern Expressway, there is a turnoff to O'Halloan Hill and Hallett Cove. Once off the SE, turn left onto Majors Road, and Glenthorne Farm is the next right hander into the park. Again, follow the road down to the playground area.
We will assemble near this playground area, and we can then leave it up to Alan to show us around and see some of the works that they have been undertaking.

Finally, I will add that on Sunday, the 22nd (the day after Glenthorne), we will put some hours into our project at Lands End, so if you are at a loss as to what you can do, come down and catch up with Gerard Wallace, who is now the coordinator of the Lands End project.
We are so lucky that the Deep Creek fire just missed us, and this is an opportunity to see just how close that fire came to wiping out all the work that we have done over the last forty years.

Do join me on the day.

Jeff Reid.

21/01/2026

A big day on Saturday. The weather will be extreme, but the workshop will go ahead. Might have to shorten the day if necessary. This is a reminder to the new group (group 15) that we do have a good airconditioner, so we'll see how we go.
Jeff.

06/01/2026

Hi all my FB followers, it's time for me to put on hold any further participants for round 15.
The round has been filled.
The next round will be in March 2026. If you missed this opportunity, we will continue throughout the year, so keep an eye on Facebook.

Jeff Reid.

04/01/2026

I know that I may be leaving this a bit late, but the time has come for me to get over my recent experience and get back to some sort of normality.
I cannot continue to feel sorry for myself, so on the 24th of January 2026, the Propagation Workshops will begin again.
This new group will be the 15th COOTS group.
As always, it will be held at 21A Richards Terrace, Goodwood, and will begin at 12 noon every Saturday for six days.
There is no cost for this valuable six (6) consecutive Saturday course; probably all I ask is for a gold coin towards coffee and cake.

What I need now are participants, so if this is something that appeals to you, please send me an email at [email protected] to register your interest in the course. I need around 10 to make it a comfortable group.

The course looks closely at how to grow Australian Native Plants, and my intention is to look in detail at how best to do that being seed or cuttings.
There will be a field day amongst the course, a couple of very experienced speakers, plus a surprise day, where we look at plant identification.
Don't miss out on this opportunity, where your possibilities are quite extensive. Many of the earlier participants have taken on roles in the COOTS group, and I look forward to many more enthusiastic people joining them to make this progressive conservation group grow in the coming years.

See if you are able to join the COOTS propagation workshops, and join this fun experience.

Jeff Reid.

22/12/2025

Time for an update.
Before I give you all a big update, it's time for me to wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and all my very best wishes for 2026.

So much has changed for me, and I really don't know what the future brings anymore.
Many of you know that I have had a number of falls, and at my age, that is not a good thing.
The last one was adoozy, and I have done some serious and long- lasting damage.
Seems that I either went to sleep or actually passed out as I was relaxing on the back verandah, and next thing I knew, I was off the verandah and headfirst into the dirt.
This caused a six-week stay in the Flinders Hospital, as I had created a whiplash situation, and now I am not even sure that I will ever get back to where I was, and that now affects so many things.
It makes you realise just how important our bodies really are, and just how fragile we really can be. I know that I am no longer the person I used to be, nor do I think I will ever be that way again.
Even the simplest things, I have to retrain my brain all over again. I am hoping that a rehabilitation program will work towards that goal.
Needless to say, many of the things that I had planned no longer apply. Even seems that I will no longer be driving any longer, which is disappointing, but that is what happens.
Now what about COOTS?
I will still be in the background but no longer taking an active part anymore, as the body cannot do it, and even the simplest things can no longer able to be done.
Now I need the COOTS group to all step up and keep the group motivated.
It would be a shame if the group petered out now.

Now, do I continue with the propagation workshops?
Not even sure about that now, maybe your thoughts about that?
Anyway, at least you all now know my situation, and who knows what the future brings from here on in, but one thing is for sure: no more falls for me.
Shortly and in the New Year, let's have a get together to make some revised plans for the group.

Jeff Reid.

07/10/2025

https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2025-10-08/rapid-pollination-decline-in-australian-orchids-since-1970s/105835594?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other

Researchers behind a new study examining thousands of flower specimens collected over the past century say temperature increases could be behind a pollination decline in native orchids.

01/10/2025

Just want to point out what the "gatherings" are all about.
So what is a gathering, and why do we have them?
First of all, they are held on the first Sunday of the month, and in the "shed" at 21A Richards Terrace in Goodwood. Basically, the home of the COOTS group.
Outside the shed, various groups set up and sell native plant species, many being indigenous plants, although there are plenty of exceptions.
COOTS has propagation workshops, where participants learn to grow many Australian plant species, so that when those plants begin to grow, they have the opportunity to sell those plants to the general public.
This has all happened because there is a demand for native plants ever since the large plant sales in the showgrounds have been phased out, mainly because of the high costs to run them, and many growers have found it very difficult to bring large amounts of plants to sell. Hence, we need to look at alternatives.
Those days have faded into history, but we still hold an Autumn Plant Sale each year at Urrbrae Agricultural School.
We ask that you still come along and support the Australian Plants Society, but now it's at the shed.

Inside the shed, various participants bring their seedlings along and repot them in single pots, ready to sell to the public. It sometimes is a hive of activity, so don't be afraid to join in.

The time for inside work begins at 10.00 am, but the actual sale of plants begins at 12 noon.
See you this coming Sunday.

28/09/2025

This will confuse a few people. Normally, I would be inviting everyone to join our next group of participants in the very popular propagation workshops at the shed in Goodwood, but because we are carrying out renovations at the shed (replacing the flooring),
This has now caused us to put the workshops on hold for a time, so we need to explore alternative options for everyone.
So this coming Saturday, the 4th of October, will be the start of a few field days for everyone to enjoy.
This first one will be to the Sandy Creek Conservation Park, which is a park that is a tiny island in a sea of agriculture and sand quarries, conserving some of the last remaining woodlands in the Barossa Valley.
Now I am sure that I have never been to this park, so it will be a learning curve for me as well.
We meet at the entrance at around 11.00 am, and if the legs hold up, we will spend around 2 hours exploring this park.
I want to see that you bring some lunch, water, sunscreen, and of course, a camera.
This is the start of many more excursions, so keep your eyes on the COOTS page, and is open to anyone.
It will be an education for many people, and may surprise many as well, once we identify many plants and hopefully orchids as well.
Jeff Reid.

30/08/2025

It’s show time! If you are heading to the Royal Adelaide Show this week, please visit our Wildlife-friendly Garden in the Goyder Pavilion - Horticulture.

The plants in our display are all locally native to the Adelaide region and have been kindly supplied by Provenance Indigenous Plants and Kersbrook Landcare & Nursery. We have a lovely selection of Green Adelaide fact sheets and booklets to take home so you too, can create a wildlife-friendly garden.

Scan the QR code to enter the bird nest competition ‘Whose nest is that?’ and go into the draw to win a Wildlife-friedly Garden starter kit and an annual Australian Plants Society membership. Good luck!

Provenance Indigenous Plants
Kersbrook Landcare & Nursery
Green Adelaide