On the glorious spring day of September 4th we had a field day to Inverawe Native Gardens. Thank you and congratulations to Bill and Margaret Chestnut, our hosts and owners of Inverawe. It was an inspiring day to see what Bill and Margaret have achieved in the 4 years of owning the 20 acres in Margate.

Seventeen old and new members of the Understorey Network were greeted by Margaret and then taken on an hour tour by Bill who was truly amazing to hear how the land has been transformed from 20 acres of weeds, including blackberry, broom, hawthorn and thistle; into a magic native garden.

Inverawe displays a huge variety of native plants in many different settings and lookouts all connected by trails and walkways. Bill and Margaret have planted around 4,000 plants and trees. There are many wonderful spots to pause and view not only the plants but some of the 70 species of birds around Inverawe. It is the perfect place to spend several hours wandering and the possibility of enjoying lunch along the way.

Seeing what Bill and Margaret have done makes me feel a bit like a slug, but they have given me many wonderful ideas to take back to my garden and the enthusiasm to attack a few of the more daunting tasks. The cost to enter Inverawe is $8.00 which helps in the cost of restoring this beautiful piece of land.