Trees

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.

Have you even wondered how large the "bottle trunk" grows on Brachychiton rupestris in 67 years?

Brachychiton rupestris "the Bottle Tree"

This "Grass Tree" didn't have label but these plants are very, very slow growers, so it must be old.

This "Grass Tree" didn't have a label but these plants are very, very slow growers, so it must be old. It must have been about 4m tall.

Melaleuca styphelioides

You can see why Melaleucas are called paper barks.

I will have to return in early summer to see it in flower.

Cockscomb Coral Tree

[mappress]

Possibly Related Posts:

Banksia Seminuda

Banksia Seminuda, a little known Tree that is under used in Gardens.

This is a Banksia that I first saw in a book about 10 years ago. I found it interesting right from the start because it was one of the few Banksias that grow into a tall tree. It had a narrow upright habit and also had bright yellow Banksia type flowers. The other thing that interested me was the fact that in its natural habitat in Western Australia, it grows near rivers and streams which made me think that it may survive in heavier soils that weren’t so well draining. Maybe!

Most Western Australian Banksias grow in sandy or gravelly soils that are very well drained and as a consequence don’t do very well in conditions that are different to those in their natural habitat. This Banksia though, I thought might be a bit more versatile. Over the years I’d always kept an eye out for one in nurseries but it wasn’t until about 3 years ago I came across some at a native plant market.

Of course you can guess I did buy one and decided to plant it the back corner of my garden. This was the obvious place I knew it was meant to be not only fast growing but in its natural habitat it was meant to grow up to 25m in height. The funny thing about it though when I did plant it I didn’t really expect it to live all that long. As I said in its natural habitat it grew next to rivers which indicated to me that it may not be very drought tolerant and secondly the place where I planted it had very little top soil and had a heavy clay base just a few centimetres below. So when I planted it I didn’t hold much hope for its survival.

1 year after planting

Well as time went by the first thing that I discovered was that it was in fact quite a quick grower. The first year it grew to about 2m in height and this was with very little rainfall or other watering by me. The other thing that I discovered was that the phosphorus in the soil hadn’t affected it adversely at all. Now as I write this post it has just come through its third summer and is now just over 3m tall. The amazing thing about this summer was that it was extremely dry. There was very little rainfall and the Melaleucas growing in the vicinity are starting to send their roots into its root zone so the competition for the little moisture in the ground is quite fierce. Despite this it has still continued to grow without any watering from me and has survived some very hot dry days over summer including 4 days in row where the temperature got over 40 degrees Celsius as well as another day when the temperature got as high as 46 degrees.

3 years after planting

So what more can I say about this tree. It appears to be a very drought tolerant plant, grows fairly quickly, isn’t affected by phosphorus toxicity and appears to tolerate soil conditions that are different to its natural habitat.

The other amazing thing is that you never appear to see it in nurseries, even the specialist native nurseries. At this stage I’m prepared to give it the thumbs up and say it deserves to become more main stream. So if you ever see it for sale somewhere and feel like you may be able to find a spot for it in your garden them please give it try and let me know how you go.

Hopefully my Banksia Seminuda will continue to thrive. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and keep you informed.

View some Banksia Seminuda Flowers

Possibly Related Posts: