November and December are the best months to plant in and around the water of the dam.

As the dam water receeds, the space becomes accessible and new plantings have a chance to become established before being inundated by the Autumn rains.

The objective of the plantings is to:

1. Stabilise the soil around the dam
2. Create habitat for native wilflife, particularly  frogs
3. Become water purifiers
4. Improve the aesthetics of the space

We took the chance to put in about 70 plants as close to the water as possible. These included the River Bottle Brush (Callistemon sieberi) as we as various rushes (Juncus) species sourced from the local nursery and being of local provenance.

All these plants have the benefits of being fast-growing, while the Juncus is particularly easy to plant, not requiring staking or covering. The local Macropods also don’t seem too interested when there is tastier grass to be found elsewhere.

The area we chose to plant was the gentle slope down the hill, which is basically a mud flat, full of silt and nutrients. This is in contrast to the dam-wall side, which is rocky and would be more difficult for the plants to establish.

The plantings on the mud-flat area should quickly spread and start to fill that space.

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We’ll check back in a few months and see how these are progressing.