Brian Roach
Have you ever wondered why our local bushland does not significantly suffer during extreme weather conditions? In the past, we have had virtually no rain and some very hot days and yet the trees and shrubs in the bush didn’t seem to care. All the while, many of the plants in our gardens just turned up their toes. In the main, it’s all about roots. I’m fortunate to have a nice boat and I spend quite a bit of time in Cowan Creek and Broken Bay. I never tire of looking at the landscape surrounding this wonderful waterway with dense shrubbery and trees flourishing between great swathes of sandstone. So, how do these plants cope with extreme conditions? The multitude of different plants in the bush burst into flower and then, all going well with the pollination process, scatter the resulting seed all over the place. To coin the old biblical story, some fall on rocky ground and wither away. Some fall among other bushes and can’t compete. But some fall on fertile ground and germination takes place.