Farm update 18 October 2026

Spring blossom, planting trees and plenty of wildlife

Spring is well and truly underway at Glenview Park, with plenty happening in the gardens, orchards, nursery and surrounding bushland. The days are getting longer, the grass keeps growing and there's no shortage of jobs to keep us busy!

A beautiful time in the garden

Our flowering cherries are doing what they do best – flowering! We've been particularly enjoying the beautiful blooms of Flowering Cherry 'Ukon', with its unusual pale green flowers, and 'Kanzan', with its masses of rich pink double blossoms. They really are spectacular at this time of year.

The lilacs are also in full flower, and we've been bringing bunches inside to fill the house with their wonderful fragrance. It's one of the great pleasures of spring.

Kate continues to spend plenty of time photographing blossom around the farm, capturing the fleeting beauty of so many different trees as they come into flower.

Planting the 2028 tree crop

While we're enjoying the spring flowers, work in the nursery continues at full pace.

Rob and Rune have been busy planting out the trees that will become our 2028 crop. It's always exciting to get another generation of trees into the ground, even though it will be another couple of years before they're ready to head off to customers' gardens and orchards.

Meanwhile, Michael has been working through the 2027 tree crop, removing unwanted growth from the base of the young trees. This process, called disbudding, helps direct the trees' growth into the desired stem and grafted variety rather than allowing unwanted shoots to develop. It's one of those important nursery jobs that takes time and attention but makes a big difference to the quality of the finished trees.

Where did we bury those irrigation pipes?

We've also been busy burying irrigation pipes around the property.

It raises a question worth asking: Do you have a map of all your buried irrigation pipes?

It's surprisingly easy to forget exactly where pipes run, particularly as irrigation systems are extended or modified over the years.

One simple trick is to take plenty of photographs while the trenches are still open, before the pipes disappear underground. Make sure your photos include recognisable landmarks such as buildings, fences, gates or established trees, so you can work out exactly where the pipes are in relation to other features.

Those photos, along with a simple sketch or map, could save a lot of digging and frustration in years to come!

A wonderful day at the Resilient Homes Expo

Last Sunday, we enjoyed a great day at the Resilient Homes Expo at Lexton, organised by Pyrenees Shire Council.

We appreciated the opportunity to share our experiences of preparing for and defending Glenview Park during the February 2024 bushfire, and to talk about some of the practical measures property owners can take to improve their bushfire preparedness.

It was also lovely to catch up with Costa Georgiadis, who was MC for the day, and to meet so many people interested in making their homes and properties more resilient.

Garden visits, an extraordinary Medlar and a little secateur maintenance

Kate spent some time visiting family in south-western Victoria this week and managed to fit in visits to a couple of lovely regional botanic gardens around Warrnambool.

One of the highlights was seeing an extraordinary 42-year-old Medlar tree at Koroit – by far the biggest and oldest Medlar Kate has ever seen! It's always fascinating to see mature examples of fruit trees, particularly those that aren't commonly grown these days.

The family visit also included a little horticultural maintenance, helping to sharpen and service a family member's secateurs.

Which raises another question: When did you last give your secateurs and loppers a good service?

Clean, sharp and well-maintained pruning tools make pruning easier, produce cleaner cuts and are much kinder to your hands. A little time spent cleaning, sharpening, lubricating and checking the moving parts can make a remarkable difference. It's also a good opportunity to check for worn or damaged components before the busy summer pruning season arrives.

Our new workshops are now open for bookings

We've just released dates for three upcoming workshops at Heritage Fruit Trees. Whether you're establishing an orchard, preparing your property for bushfire or wanting to improve your pruning skills, we'd love to have you join us.

• General Orchard Establishment Workshop – Saturday 14 November 2026 (full day). Spend a day with Rob learning about orchard planning, soil preparation, variety selection, irrigation, tree training and much more, with practical examples from our extensive orchards.
• Bushfire Preparation Workshop – Saturday 28 November 2026 (half day). Join Rob and Kate to explore the practical measures we've implemented at Glenview Park, including pumps, rooftop sprinklers, fuel management and other aspects of bushfire preparedness.
• Summer Pruning Workshop – Saturday 16 January or Saturday 30 January 2027 (half day). Learn practical techniques for summer pruning and managing the growth and structure of your fruit trees.

All workshops are held here at Glenview Park, near Beaufort. Places are limited.

Explore our workshops and book your place

New arrivals, fledglings and a seasonal warning

There's been plenty of activity among the birds around the farm.

The Magpie chicks have now fledged and are out exploring the world, while the Currawong chicks aren't far behind. It's wonderful to watch the next generation of birds emerging from their nests and learning to navigate their surroundings.

We've also been delighted to see a pair of Brolgas in the district. These magnificent birds are always a special sight, and we never tire of seeing them in the local landscape.

We've spotted our first Tiger Snake of the season in the garden. With the warmer weather, snakes are becoming active again, so we're being particularly mindful when working around garden beds, long grass, logs and other sheltered spots.

It's a timely reminder to keep an eye out when gardening, wear suitable footwear and give any snakes plenty of space.

Spring is such a busy and rewarding time here at Glenview Park. There's always something new flowering, growing, hatching or demanding our attention, and we're looking forward to seeing how the gardens and nursery develop over the coming weeks.

Cheers,

Kate, Rob and the Heritage Fruit Trees Team

Images: Copyright Heritage Fruit Trees