Gardens

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne will present “The Australian Garden” to be featured at the 2011 Chelsea Flower. Unique and endangered plant species native to Australia will be the feature. The garden, designed by award-winning landscape designer Jim Fogarty, has been allocated a prestigious Main Avenue site.

The “The Australian Garden”, which will appear at Chelsea and is sponsored by Macquarie Group, is based on the multi award-winning Australian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne which is a division of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne in Victoria.

The second and final stage of the 18-hectare Australian Garden at Cranbourne will open in 2012, offering visitors from all over the world the chance to immerse themselves in the stories, colours, textures, sounds and scents of Australia.

“The Australian Garden” to appear at Chelsea tells the story of the metaphorical journey of water through Australia’s arid outback eastward to the urbanised coast. The dry riverbed path, outback flowering plants, saltpan and waterhole represent the arid outback. Water appears, bubbling up from the artesian basin, and flows along the water feature in the culturally-significant shape of a hunting boomerang to the coast. The water then re-appears as a cascade down the rusted steel gorge wall, and finally disappears into underground aquifers to begin the journey again.

The Chelsea Show Garden gives a snapshot of the diversity of Australia’s flora and offers the chance to see some Australian native plants that are rarely seen outside of Australia. Jim Fogarty, the designer, is no stranger to Chelsea, having received a Silver-Gilt medal at the 2004 RHS Chelsea Flower Show for his “Australian Inspiration” garden.

All plants displayed, including the turf, are Australian native plants and have been sourced from specialist nurseries in Spain and Sicily through renowned UK plant managers Crocus, with the assistance of Kelways Nurseries.

The Show Garden will feature over 2,000 Australian native plants, including a number of species not commonly seen at Chelsea, such as the iconic Queensland Bottle Tree (Brachychiton rupestris); 25 varieties of Grevillea, including the intriguingly-named Grevillea ‘Spiderman’; and the distinctive Firewheel Tree (Stenocarpus sinuatus).

The extensive plant list also includes a selection of rare and threatened species, some of which have previously been sent to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew as part of the Millennium Seed Bank Project, including:

• Spinning Gum (Eucalyptus perriniana)
• Fragrant Saltbush (Rhagodia parabolica)
• Hairy Darling-pea (Swainsona greyana)

The dedicated and passionate team behind the Australian Garden entry is led by Dr Philip Moors, Director and Chief Executive of the Royal Botanic Gardens and a qualified ecologist with over 30 years’ experience. Dr Moors has worked closely with Jim Fogarty to create a vibrant Show Garden that will cement the Australian Garden as an essential part of any visit to Australia.

Possibly Related Posts:

Posted in Gardens | Leave a comment

Californian Garden

Being a fan of drought tolerant plants I was drawn straight away to the Californian Garden at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.

It features Palms, Agaves, Cactus and lots of other drought tolerant plants. These types of plants are now becoming more popular in Australian home gardens as they are quite architectural and look great in contemporary gardens.

The garden itself in not as large as some in the botanic gardens but it is very well landscaped and is a great place to draw on inspiration for the home garden.

Californian Garden Photos

Slide Show + -

Full Screen

Possibly Related Posts:

Posted in Gardens | Tagged agaves, cactus, Californian Garden, palms | 1 Comment

Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne

It was a cold, chilly winter’s day in Melbourne yesterday but the sun was shining brightly. The previous few days had been cold and wet so what better thing to do than to get out of the house and go for a walk outdoors.

Of course for a gardener there is no better place to go for a walk than through a garden and for me and my family one of our most favourite gardens is the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. The gardens are located just to the east of the city of Melbourne, they are well over 150 years old and are made up of one of the most amazing collections of plants and trees from all over the world. For me though, I would have to say one of the real features are some of the magnificent trees growing there.

Just some of the magnificent trees in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

Slide Show + -

Full Screen

There is nothing more remarkable than a tree that has stood the test of time. These types of trees are irreplaceable and the Melbourne Botanic Gardens are just full of trees from Australia and all around the world. Some are growing by themselves surrounded by lush green lawns while others are growing amongst others in groves that make up small forests and grow tall and narrow as they try to outgrow each other in a quest for sunlight.

One of the other things about the gardens is that they have something for everyone. For children there is no better place than the Children’s Garden.

For me, being a lover of drought tolerant plants, I like the Californian Garden and the arid garden.

There are also groves of bamboo, as well as Camellia and Rhododendron gardens. There really is something for everyone even if you’re not a gardener you really can’t help but be amazed. So if you live in Melbourne and haven’t paid a visit here then you are really missing out or if you ever come to visit then you really need to add it to your schedule. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne really is a wonderful place to visit.

Here’s some more trees I found interesting.