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Stinking Iris (Iris foetidissima)
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Flowering from November on The Mounts is Iris foetidissima also known as “Stinking Iris” or “Roast Beef Plant” after its rather unpleasant fragrance when cut or bruised.
It is a clump-forming evergreen herb to 100 cm, with tough rhizomes immediately below the soil surface.
The flowers are 5–7 cm in diameter and are dull purplish-grey tinged with yellow. More common in Australia is the yellow flowered variant that is often naturalised. You will find both varieties flowering in Mt Wilson currently.
At maturity each seed capsule splits into three, each with two rows of round orange seeds of 5 mm diameter, these can persist for several months.
Despite the Royal Horticultural Society giving Iris foetidissima their prestigious Award of Garden Merit. The plant is clearly becoming a problem in Mt Wilson, most notably in and around Church Lane. Each plant grows rapidly and seeds readily and is dispersed by birds. Mature stands will easily smother a garden bed and become extremely difficult to remove.
There are three options to manage this plant:
- If you wish to retain any plants, systematically remove any seed capsules before the seeds emerge.
- To remove the plants, the most effective way is to mattock out the rhizomes (juvenile plants can usually be removed by hand.
- Iris foetidissima will respond to Glyphosate (RoundupTM) but the leaves will need to be soaked and secondary spraying may be required.
Donating to Mt Wilson - Mt Irvine Community Groups
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Tax deductible donations can be easily made by clicking on the following links below:
The Mt Wilson - Mt Irvine Rural Fire Brigade
Kashmir
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"Kashmir", formally known as "Koojanup Park", is now open for visitors on weekends during Spring and Autumn.
Woodfired pizzas and drinks are also for sale at the trailer at the entrance to the garden.
Located at 10 Church Lane, the garden is approximately 25 acres and growing. For more information see: https://www.kashmirmountwilson.com.au/
Mrs Rodgers commissioned Paul Sorensen to design and do the works on the property which included terracing and basalt stonework.
Maples, cherry's, elms and oaks can be found along with Tulip and birch trees, rhododendrons and camellias. There are a number of conifers and Cypress, including a large Sequoia sempervirens.
Since purchase almost 5 years ago , the current owners have worked at restoring the garden which had become overgrown and required maintenance to the stonework.
Along with restoring and maintaining the garden, current work has included adding basalt stone walls and several sets of sandstone stairs in order to aid in the flow of the garden. The design has always intended to carry the Sorensen style throughout.
You'll find new plantings of several types of
hydrangea and peonies along with hundreds of bulbs planted each year for Spring.
The garden will be ready to open fully in Spring 2024. Currently, the terraces are open to visit free of charge.
You will find the owners son, Chad, making woodfired pizzas from his trailer on the top terrace. There are plenty of places to sit and eat and enjoy the wonderful view.
Hope to see you there!
Artists in Residence
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Artist in Residence, The Old School Mt Wilson
beauty, diversity, tranquility
The Old School, Mount Wilson commenced an Artist in Residence program in 2019. This is a volunteer based, not for profit organisation aiming to share the beauty, diversity and tranquility of Mount Wilson, providing an opportunity for artists to work, be supported by and engage with the local community.
The program provides residency, accommodation and studio, for one month for both emerging and established artists and suits musicians/composers, writers, visual and textile artists.
Each resident will give a community engagement event.
Artist in Residence on Facebook
Artist in Residence on Instagram
Applications are now open and close Friday 31 May
for the October 2024 to June 2025 period.
There is no residency offered for April
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For more information or to be added to our email list, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Old School Mt Wilson gratefully acknowledges the commitment and generosity of our supporters.
Anne de Salis & Martin Barge
Nancy Fox AM & Bruce Arnold
Steve Gracie
Griffin Foundation
Mary Holt OAM
Joe & Elizabeth Montano
Anon (1)
Please consider making a donation towards the future of the Artists in Residence program at The Old School. Your gift, of any size, is a vital contribution to the program’s future.
All gifts over $2 are fully tax-deductible.
To support The Old School Artists in Residence program, you can:
- Make a direct deposit to:
- Account name: The Old School Mt Wilson Public Fund
- BSB: 082-678
- Account: 31 143 7891
- Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Please include your name in the description to receive your tax-deductible receipt.
Residencies for November 2023 to June 2024
Ward O'Neill
Johanna Hildebrandt
Frankie Dyson Reilly
Anna Spencer
Peter McLean
Frankie Meaden
Residencies for November 2022 to June 2023
Belle Bregovic emerging poet/classical pianist and guitarist Eitan Muir during their residency will delve deep into their craft and develop new performance works, culminating in a premier performancefor the Mt Wilson local community
Helen Pitt is a senior writer at the Sydney Morning heraldand author of The House, the extraordinary story of the Sydney opera House and the people who built it. This residency will be her first attempt at writing fiction, working on an idea about French female explorers in NSW
Helen Begley is a song writer, composer, performer, teacher and facilitator, currently working on a trilogyof musical performance pieces that explore the stories of femaile immigration to Australia in the 1930s, "Voyage", "Wild" and "Wrecked". During her residency she will be working on "Wild" , the story of immigrant Martha Wild.
Sharon Peoples is a textile artist oscillating between hand and machine embroidery to examine issues. She is energised and draws inspiration from gardens. For her residency she proposes to take time to researchand explore the birds that are present or migrate through the Mt Wilson 'garden'
Anna Glynn artist and Peter Dalmazzo biologist will explore the Blue Mountains basalt forest endangered ecological community creating artwork to focus attention and highlight a stunning and complex environment
Marynes Avila is a multi-award winning artist concerned with socially engaged practice who creates work that specifically responds to site and community
Read the artist statements.......
Residencies for November 2021 to May 2022
Cadance Bell is an author, writer, producer and director.
Brad Gill is a musician and composer
Ariella Van Luyn is a writer
Natasha Dubler is a multidisciplinary artist working across sound installation, music performance and small sculpture.
Anna Glynn artist & Peter Dalmazzo biologist
Jennifer Keeler-Milne is a visual artist.
Read the artist statements here
Residencies for October 2020 to June 2021
Jane Guthleben is a visual artist whose practice involves a fascination with C17th Dutch still life paintings and how to reimagine them in an Australian context
Jody Graham is a multidiscipline artist, whose artwork commemorates loss and memory. Her purpose is to conserve valuable stories and contribute creatively to the Australian bushfire history.
Leah Bullen is a visual artist whose practice explores various locations that recreate and curate the natural world, such as gardens.
Julie Thorndyke is a writer
Read the artists statements......
Residencies for October 2019 to May 2020
LeAnne Vincent a photo based visual artist read more.....
Leisel Mott is a landscape painter
Tristan Coelho composer and Emily Granger harpist
Troth - Amelia Besseney and Cooper Bowman together they fashion ethereal soundscapes from field recordings, vocals, electronics, zither, tape loops and sampled percussion and piano
Mandy Beaumont is a novelist
Lynne Ainsworth will be working on her memoir 'Someone Must Pay'
Read the artists statements......
Japanese Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica)
- Details
A native of China and Japan. Japanese Honeysuckle is a vigorous climber with soft green leaves and pale yellow, sweetly scented flowers which self layers and quickly grows up and over shrubs and small trees, smothering them. The black berries are carried by the birds.
Japanese Honeysuckle is a vigorous, fast growing scrambling and climbing shrub with distinctive pinkish new stems. Old stems can become thick and gnarly.
Spring is a good time to identify Japanese Honeysuckle, a creeper with its distinctive small yellow cream to white flowers with a pink tube. Flowers occur in pairs and mostly in spring to autumn. Flowers are fragrant and nectar-filled.
Small shiny black berries 6–10 mm long occur in autumn.
Impact on bushland
Japanese Honeysuckle grows rapidly and forms a dense shade over shrubs and low canopy trees, blocking the light, breaking branches and causing loss of biodiversity.
Control
Japanese Honeysuckle twines in and around other plants, making it difficult to control.
Vines climbing up shrubs or trees:
- Scrape each stem as far as possible and paint; suspended vines can then be cut and left in place.
- Suspended vines are easily identified as they look like gnarly paperbark vines.
- Cut and paint large crowns and scrape and paint as many roots as possible.
Vines growing on the ground:
- Pull out by hand, making sure all root and stem parts are removed. Cut material can be spread out off the ground. Once dead, it will decompose in place.
- Where the foliage is dense, treat with herbicide if there are no native plants or water nearby.
Berries are spread by birds, so treat plants before they fruit.
Do not pull dead or alive vines out of trees as this may damage the tree and it may be habitat for microbats and other small animals.
