Plants have been selected from the Bickleigh Vale Friends of Edna Walling / Yarra Ranges Council / Heritage Victoria Road Vegetation Plan. All plants were privately funded by the owners.

• Prostanthera Purple Haze
• Prostanthera  poorinda Ballerina
• Myoporum coarse leaf -pink
• Myoporum purpurea broad leaf
• Baeckea – Clarence River
• Leptospermum petersonii -lemon scented
• Leptospermum – Cardwell
• Leptospermum – Ballerina
• Leptospermum – Lemon frost
• Philotheca verrucosus double
• Westringia
•  Wynyabbie Gem
• Glabra
• Zena
• Snowflurry
• Longifolia
• Iris unguicularis
• Correa
• Chefs Cap
• Little Cate
• Glabra
• Spirea cantoniensis  
• Abelia Raspberry Perfusion
• Acacia implexa
• Acacia Sterling Silver
• Crepe Myrtle acoma
• Blueberry Ash – Pink form
• Eucalyptus pauciflora small form formerly known as Edna Walling Gum
• Malus transitoria Golden Raindrops

A note regarding the Malus Golden Raindrops – Edna Walling planted many specimen trees throughout the gardens of Bickleigh Vale, and this is another rare beauty to add to the collection within the village. Golden Raindrops is resistant to possums and has a slightly darker coarser leaf and is described as a cut leaf variety.

The trees were planted, then interspersed with the other plants …removing some “nurse” plants as other priority plants mature. Plants will be positioned allowing for them to be set back from the edge of the Lane. The new low plantings around the existing Gum will remain to allow for a safe view of traffic at the intersection.

The Holly tree situated in the Sonningfield garden is listed as a significant tree; we will consult Patrick from Heritage Trees to assess and prune, with the aim of removing three large suckers in the future.

Spirea cantoniensis was planted between the old and the new section (the older leading up the Devon Cottage gate) which will soften the aesthetic to the trunks of the existing Hawthorne.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to Yarra Ranges Council and their Lead Gardeners, Jesse and Aaron, for their advice and assistance along with labour to clear and dispose of the environmental weeds from the verge and subsequent provision of mulch. We thank Carole and Chris from The Spinney, who gave us unfailing support with planning and planting and generously donated the Golden Raindrops Crabapple from their garden collection, contributing to the specimen tree collection of Bickleigh Vale to be enjoyed by all.

After discussion between the electrical authority, NBN and Yarra Ranges Council (YRC) it was decided that the only viable solution was for YRC contractors to replace this short section of the creek with and underground pipe and then plant over the triangle created. This work was carried out over the past couple of weeks and, as you can imagine there was a bit of car shuffling going on during that time as driveways became inaccessible!

​But there was a further complication arising along the way. It became apparent that much of the timber in 'Windsong''s driveway bridge over the creek had rotted over the years and the best solution overall was to extend the new underground pipe a few more meters rather then rebuild the bridge.

The construction work has now been completed and looks very good. The red and white tape has since been removed and planting of the roadside verge will take place in the next few weeks.

Yarra Ranges and their contractors created the new curve over three days this week - starting by clearing a wild patch of cotoneasters along the roadside which are something of a prolific 'weed' tree in the area but also a feature of Bickleigh Vale.

Next came the careful digging into the roadside verge watched by a constant stream of interested residents.

Finally, the topping was dropped in place and then spread and profiled to complete the 'Elm Tree Curve' - quickly followed by a delivery van traffic hurrying about its business!

The final stage will be planting out the area around the Elm tree which will be done by residents with the support of YRC. ​In the short term, there will be bollards left by YRC to ensure the curve is used correctly and the garden area is protected.

The weather forecast wasn't promising but we were lucky and the rain held off for the morning so just about everything that was planned for today got done.

• Long overdue heavy pruning outside Abbotsley to encourage new growth in spring
• Tidy-up along Edna Walling Lane (doesn't it look good now that all the new plants of the past few years are doing well and the weed plants are under control?)
• Lots of pot-holes filled along Bickleigh Vale Rd. - always a problem when we've had a bit of rain
• General weeding and light pruning along the roadside. The Bickleigh Vale Rd entrance is now all ready for replanting in August..

Along our roadside verges, as with any garden, plants grow old or become diseased or perhaps suffer from possum and bird damage and the time comes for renewal and replanting. This is exactly what we face at the entrance to Bickleigh Vale so we set about preparing a rennovation plan for this area.
The plan is to remove the weedy species, more invasive plants and tree stumps in this area and then replant with varieties that remain sympathetic to our Roadside Vegetation Management Plan whilst offering greater visibiity to turning vehicles as well as resilience in our changing climate.
Here's what Bickleigh Vale resident, Carole, came up with that was then endorsed by the residents at our quarterly meeting last week:

At today's working bee, we got started on the ground work. An enthusiastic group cut down the weedy species, pruned the more unruly shrubs and removed those invasive plants as outlined in the plan. Stumps and branches for removal in the next few weeks by our management partner - Yarra Ranges Council - were tagged with red and white tape.
Its looking a little bare now but, after replanting next spring and then waiting a couple of years for things to grow, it'll be a fitting entrance to this lovely village again!

And then there was the other project - clearing out those blocked driveway culverts. After a couple of years of neglect due to Covid lockdowns etc, some of them have become seriously silted up and in recent heavy rain, grooves were gouged out of Bickleigh Vale Rd as the gutters overflowed and bypassed the culverts.
Armed with our new Wolf-Garten culvert clearing tool, three of the worst culverts were cleared after much effort whilst others dug out the excess topping that was blocking the gutters and put it back on the road where it belongs.
There is one more culvert that still needs attention but we ran out of time today.

​As well as the two main tasks for the day, we also got stuck into routine pruning such as outside Abbotsley where the plants planted ten years ago are now out of control and needed to be reduced in size. Whilst not really in keeping with Edan Walling's approach to pruning, the narrow roadside verges at the eastern end of Bickleigh Vale Rd don't leave a lot of room for larger shrubs and part of the Management Plan includes maintaining driveway visibility.