Newsletter Sept 2025

Flower of the Month

Calendula

By Bibi

Calendula, or pot marigold, is a cheerful flower with bright yellow and orange blooms. Easy to grow, it’s loved for both beauty and usefulness.

Planting & Positioning
Calendula enjoys full sun but tolerates light shade. Plant in well-drained soil enriched with compost. Sow seeds directly in the garden or in pots, spacing 20–25 cm apart. Seeds germinate quickly and can be sown from spring through autumn in mild climates.

Watering & Feeding
Keep soil evenly moist, watering at the base to prevent mildew. Fertilize lightly every 4–6 weeks to encourage more flowers.

Maintenance & Pests
Deadhead spent blooms to extend flowering. Pinch back young plants for bushiness. Calendula attracts bees and butterflies, while helping deter pests, though aphids and mildew may appear.

Harvesting & Uses
Calendula petals are edible—perfect for salads, teas, or garnishes. Known for soothing skin, they are widely used in balms and natural remedies. Harvest blooms in the morning, and dry them for later use.

Fun Facts

• The name calendula means “little calendar,” reflecting its long bloom season.
• In folklore, it symbolized joy and protection.
• During World War I, its petals were used to treat wounds.

A bright, healing flower, calendula brings sunshine to any garden!

Check out the YouTube clip to learn how every part of Calendula can be used.

For a limited time only, ‘Pregnant Onion’ is available for sale at the CFS Flower Shop.

Plant of the Month

Kangaroo Paws

By Anna R.

Native to Western Australia, the Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos) dazzles with its vibrant, velvety flowers and unique claw-like shape. They are a member of the bloodwort family Haemodoraceae. Blooming in shades of red, yellow, orange, and green, it’s a favourite for adding bold colour to gardens and floral arrangements.

This hardy perennial thrives in full sun and well-drained soil, making it perfect for low-maintenance landscapes. Its nectar-rich blooms attract birds and pollinators, adding life to any outdoor space. With minimal watering and high drought tolerance, Kangaroo Paw is a stunning, sustainable choice for Australian gardens.

FUN FACTS:

Indigenous people used Kangaroo Paws for food and medicinal purposes and were useful for skin ailments. Extracts from the kangaroo paw flower exhibit anti-inflammatory attributes, offering relief for irritated or sensitive skin. .

Kangaroo paws grow from underground rhizomes that store starch and water, allowing them to survive and re-sprout after fires and during droughts. 

The flowers breed to attract perch birds such as honeyeaters.

The Kangaroo Paw is Western Australia’s national flower.

Propagation by division:

Let’s hear from the expert on how various cultivates are developed at the King’s Park in Perth, Western Australia.

Book Review

Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

By Adam C. and Wing C. with Chat-GPT
Nelson Mandela’s autobiography is not only the story of one man’s life, but a testimony to the endurance of the human spirit against oppression. His 27 years in prison are recounted without bitterness; instead, they reveal a man who refused to let hatred chain his heart, even as his body remained behind bars.

Reading Mandela’s words, I cannot help but think of my own past. In 1949, when I was just 14 years old, my family was forced to flee our homeland as the Red tide swept across China. We came from a well-off family with political ties to the National Party, and staying would have meant persecution, perhaps worse. My father—your grandfather—uprooted everything we had and led us to Hong Kong, then a British colony. There, we faced discrimination under colonial rule, yet we endured, carving out a new life and raising three children in freedom.

It was not the same as Mandela’s 27 years behind bars, yet the essence was similar: the painful loss of home, the weight of injustice, and the long, uncertain journey toward dignity. I see in Mandela’s struggle a mirror of the sacrifices my parents made, and the resilience demanded of all who are forced to walk away from their homeland for the hope of liberty.

What Mandela teaches us is that freedom is not simply the absence of chains or the right to speak, but the courage to stand up for justice without surrendering to hate. His leadership was not about wielding power, but about serving people—even those who once oppressed him.

For me, Long Walk to Freedom is both an extraordinary history of South Africa and a personal reminder: the fight for freedom is never abstract. It is written into the lives of those who lose everything yet keep walking forward. Mandela’s long walk is also, in some sense, mine. And in reading him, I am reminded that freedom, though costly, is always worth the journey. I dedicate this book to everyone, in every land, who is still walking their own road to freedom.

Personal Note by Wing C.

Like my father, I too made my own walk to freedom—leaving Hong Kong in 1992 with my three-year-old son, before the Handover. Our family’s story of displacement and resilience has repeated across generations. Reading Mandela reminds me that the long road to freedom is never walked alone, and one day I will write my own review.

Recipe of the Month

The Vegan Blueberry Banana Muffin by Toni Okamoto. Photo credit: Teresa Lam.

• 1 ½ cups of mashed ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
• ¼ cup of granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup of canola or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 1 ½ cups of whole wheat or all-purpose flour
• 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350F/175C and lightly grease a muffin tin (or alternatively, lightly grease some paper liners).

Step 2: Then, add the bananas to a large bowl and mash them using a fork. Add the sugar, oil, leavening agents, salt, and flour to the mashed bananas. Gently stir until well combined. However, be careful not to overwork the flour, as it can lead to dense vegan banana blueberry muffins.

Step 3: Next, carefully fold the blueberries into the batter and divide the batter between the muffin pan cups. Make sure to fill each cup to the top. Bake for 25 minutes. Then, allow the muffins to sit in the pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool further.

From the Desk of Bibi

Fathers’ Love: Gentle but Strong, Quiet but Lasting

By Dr Bibiana Chan

At yesterday’s Community Flower Studio pop-up stall, I was reminded of a kind of love that often doesn’t get as much attention — the love of a father for his child.

It started with a family of three — daddy, mummy, and a bright-eyed three-year-old boy. Our high school volunteer, Henry, handed them a “Petal-it-Forward” Daffodil Posy as part of Daffodil Month. The whole family’s faces lit up. After thanking us, they lingered, curious about the other products on our table.

Their attention was quickly caught by our mini succulent pots, each decorated with a gum nut and a little red toadstool mushroom. The little boy carefully chose his favourite pot. As I handed it over, I noticed a small succulent leaf that had fallen onto the pebbles inside. It wasn’t just a leaf — there was a tiny green sprout emerging from it.

I smiled and said to the little boy,

“Look! There’s a baby succulent here. How about you look after this baby while Mummy and Daddy look after the plant?”

His eyes lit up, and he waved enthusiastically as the family crossed the road to continue their day.

A few minutes later, rain began to pour. Another volunteer, Anna, arrived for her first shift, so I asked Henry, who had been helping, to give her a quick handover. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the father from earlier walk past our stall. Then he passed again. He didn’t interrupt — just kept glancing around as if searching for something.

Eventually, he left and crossed the road. But soon, he returned, looking more intently at the ground near our stall.

“Are you looking for something?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “The little succulent leaf that was on top of the pot.”

I told him not to worry — you can just tear off a bottom leaf from the mother plant and a new baby will appear. He nodded politely and crossed the road again. This time, I watched him retrace the exact path his family had taken earlier.

Then it happened — a little spark in his eyes. “Found it!”

Continue reading here.

Subscriber’s Corner

A field trip at Ferndale Park

By Henry Gebert.

We started our bushwalk at Bartels Park, after everyone had gathered and been briefed on the history of Ferndale Park. Our goal was to follow and finish the Rail2River trail along the creek, then walk back to where we started. Bibi also announced a ‘Spot a Fern’ game to encourage active observation of the environment.

Just after starting the bushwalk, our group split into pairs because everyone walked at different speeds and did not stay together, resulting in some of us taking different paths. We later rejoined and were able to explore a part of Ferndale Park that had not been visited by CFS bushwalks before, which was an exciting part of the journey.

Once we returned to Bartels Park, we shared the types of ferns we saw and other interesting findings, such as sightings of black cockatoos. To finish the bushwalk, Bibi handed out some ferns for participants to keep.

Greetings from Teresa Lam while visiting USA.

Mount Gretna Outdoor Art Show by Teresa Lam

I have been lucky enough to spend this cold, wet Sydney winter in a beautiful part of the USA called Mount Gretna. The houses here nestle among tall trees, and most have charming porches. In the summer, Mount Gretna comes alive with a variety of activities in July and August, the highlight being the outdoor Art Show.
The 51st annual show, held “Under the Trees of Old Chautauqua,” took place on the weekend of August 16–17. Over 200 artists exhibited their work in a wide range of mediums, including wool, metal, watercolour, oil, glass, and more. My favorites were a pelican metal sculpture, poppies in oil, and a painting made from wool.

I was lucky to meet a local artist, Eleanor, who showed me her intricate dollhouses—amazing detail! Beneath the tall trees, the small town buzzes with creativity, from theatre to music to art.This lovely environment has provided the perfect spot for much-needed rest and recharge.