Category Archives: Bushcare, native plants, weed control

Weeds need to be controlled – Ltr to Ed

Posted on by
Reply
Bridal Creeper and Freesia threatening to smother local native plants including a Zamia Palm (a cycad).

Dear Echo News,

Environmentally destructive weeds such as freesia and bridal creeper need to be controlled urgently to protect the hundreds of high-quality bush reserves in the Hills. 

Freesia isn’t just a verge weed, it rapidly gets far into good bush, blocking out the local natives and leading the way for many other weeds. 

Bridal creeper is spread far and wide by birds. It grows over bushes and small natives, completely smothering them. 

The result is a weed patch where previously there was a great density and diversity of native plants.

Stopping this destruction is not rocket science and we already know what to do. 

The materials and equipment are cheap, but council budgets provide very few weed control staff. 

Please join a bushcare friends group, we need a lot more volunteers including manual weeders and authorised volunteer herbicide sprayers.

Always begin by targeting the peripheries or leading edges of a weed infestation to stop it spreading and give the natives a chance to come back in, even if this means you run out of time to tackle the middle. 

Don’t let them spread.

MD Jones

Friends of John Forrest National Park

Letter to the Editor, published 25th September 2026

https://echonewspaper.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/25.9.26_compressed.pdf

All photos by MDJ (not sent to The Echo). Some have the location GPS removed.Bridal Creeper in John Forrest National ParkFreesiaBridal Creeper

Asparagus asparagoides (Bridal Creeper), and Freesia (probably Freesia alba x Freesia leichtlinii hybrid).

Blog resuming for BUSHCARE

Posted on by
Reply

Restarting my blog which was lying idle for five years.

I want to share so much about many things but especially bushcare in the Perth Hills.  

A great many enthusiastic locals are incredibly active in efforts to preserve the forest and the good bush we live in. We find it deeply satisfying.

Lots about plants

— how to identify local natives and weeds, with my own pics

— what to do about the weeds (methods, tactics & strategies)

— restoration and revegetation of degraded bush

— volunteering in bushcare Friends groups

— other organisations you can join

Many useful documents can be found at

www.mixmargaret.com/bushcare, including CONTACTS for Friends groups.

Combination of bushcare and music

— Bushcare Info, Chat & Music, the BICM series of events (“bick-em”)

My more-or-less classical music

— major re-workings of traditional songs such as Amazing Grace, Greensleeves etc.

— original songs such as Androgyne Prophecy with Akhenaten

— original professional piano solos such as Rainbows Over Hovea

— live performances

Will I ever make a proper CD??

You can dip in here to see if I’ve posted recently but it’s even better to subscribe so you get an email notification.

Please comment and/or share my posts on your social media.

My own Facebook has been inaccessible to me for a year and I don’t think I’ll be able to get past the login problem any time soon.