WORLD CUP WORLD CUP
WORDS AND PHOTOS: PETER MURRAY AND HAYDEN MEAD, WITH BRETT ROBINSON
The right hand side of the 1st green at Kingston Heath is just one example of the successful regeneration works that the club is currently undertaking as part of a comprehensive vegetation masterplan
Botanic
beauty The course aside, what makes Kingston Heath truly one of the world’s most unique golf establishments is its vegetation which was on full display when the World Cup of Golf visited last November.
Kingston Heath horticulturist Peter Murray 12
I
t’s fair to say that Kingston Heath Golf Club horticulturist Peter Murray probably has a lovehate relationship when it comes to major golf tournaments. While on the one hand it’s great to see the course presented at its immaculate best for the world’s elite players, for the unique floral community which Murray helps to nurture and maintain it can be a very stressful time. Murray has been responsible for Kingston Heath’s vegetation since arriving at the club in 2010 and together with Jake Hartley (who is currently doing an apprenticeship in conservation land management) ensures that the club’s prized vegetation is preserved, protected and enhanced. Murray is passionate about the club’s landscape and plant community and rightly so as it houses some rare and beautiful species. Kingston Heath’s vegetation is renowned within the Melbourne sandbelt region and is classed as mainly ‘sand heathland’ to ‘damp heathland’. These classes are becoming increasingly rare as urban sprawl encroaches on their habitat. Many of the plants that belong to the ‘sand heathland’ group can be found at Kingston Heath, among them Epacris impressa (common heath) which, not surprisingly, is represented on the club’s emblem. There are a few other species of ‘heath’ that also call Kingston Heath home. Although in small numbers, these species are currently being propagated and slowly reintroduced in selected areas across the 60 hectare site. The club works heavily with local indigenous plant nurseries Greenlink Sandbelt and Bayside Nursery to help
AUSTRALIAN TURFGRASS MANAGEMENT 19.1
bring these species back and to date they have been used in over 10 revegetation sites on the course, mostly as part of works to tee carries and out of play areas. Epacris impressa is not the easiest plant to propagate and has been one of the success stories for the club. This species was down to just a single individual in 2010, however, the plant is now in abundance with over 80 stands around the course. With further plantings planned this year the population will be well over 100. There are many other plants growing at Kingston Heath that could be considered rare outside of the course. With initial low numbers of these plants, over the past six years they have been slowly reintroduced thanks to the efforts of Murray and the local nurseries. These include Astroloma humifusum (cranberry heath), Acrotriche serrulata (honey pots), Leucopogon virgatus (common beard heath), Monotoca scorparia (prickly broom heath) and Hibbertia riparia (erect guinea flower), as well as hakeas and many species of orchid. Pultenaea dentata (clustered bush pea) is the only rare Australian plant at Kingston Heath and very rare in Melbourne with only a few colonies remaining. This plant has been propagated since 2012 and the club now has a large number in the nursery and in the ground, as well as a good seed bank. The Pultenaea re-appeared in 2011 after some soil disturbance during a revegetation project. Not knowing what the plant was, Murray installed a tree guard over the plant and waited for it to flower before getting it identified. It was taken to Greenlink