WINTER 2020 Issue 125 $5.95

A TIME FOR REFLECTION HOW WE CAN PROTECT OUR PLANTS AND ANIMALS TO SECURE OUR FUTURE

NEW ONLINE GALLERY • SPOTLIGHT ON BOTANICAL SCIENCE • AFTER THE FIRES Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah

Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens Ltd, Cottage 6, Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney 2000 Phone: (02) 9231 8182 Fax: (02) 9241 3064 Email: [email protected] Web: rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/foundation andfriends Office hours: Mon to Fri, 9am–5pm Patron Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AO QC. Chairman Ian Breedon Deputy Chair Kate Horrobin Board Clive Austin AM, Raoul de Ferranti, Matthew Glascott, Jenny Lourey, Denise Ora, Tony Pearson, Jacquie Stratford, Karen Vien Secretary Juvie Ormonde Chief Executive Officer Melissa Ellis Staff Carrie Alexander, Michelle Burke, Stephanie Chambers, Linda Cholson, Maureene Fries, Nicky Hammond, Samit Pradhan, Charlotte Terrier The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Mrs Macquaries Road, Sydney 2000 Phone: (02) 9231 8111 The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah, Bells Line of Road, via Bilpin 2758. Phone: (02) 4567 3000 The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, Narellan Road, Mount Annan 2567. Phone: (02) 4634 7900 facebook.com/FoundationandFriends instagram.com/FoundationandFriends Editor Gina Hetherington Designer Lauren Sutherland Coordinator Helen Goodall

Foundation and Friends of the Botanic Gardens is the charity supporting the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah. Our mission is to grow a strong, supportive community to advocate and raise funds for our Botanic Gardens and

their vital work protecting our plants and our future. and Domain Trust Photo: © Royal Botanic Gardens CONTENTS

FEATURES 10 Farewell Jimmy Our Director of Horticulture has moved to the US 12 Our plants our future How you can help your Botanic Gardens recover from the impact of natural disasters 14 The Australian Institute of Botanical Science The important role of this new collaborative scientific hub 17 Vale Shirley Stackhouse We honour a gardening icon and valued friend and supporter of the Gardens 18 The Botanic Gardens Gallery The launch of our new ecommerce shop and online art exhibitions 22 Western Australia in spring A tour group discovered the bold, bright and unique flora of the south-west 27 Estate planning for your future How 14 to create a meaningful legacy

GARDENS NEWS 28 The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Aboriginal culture at the Garden 30 The Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan Global research on the ancient Wollemi pine 32 The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah Recovery and research after the bushfires

IN EACH ISSUE 4 Chairman’s report 6 Foundation & Friends‘ news 7 Chief Executive Officer’s report 9 Executive Director’s report 24 Plants in the Gardens 26 First Person 18 On the cover

Koalas and their habitat are under serious threat due to

Photo: © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and Domain Trust Photo: © Royal Botanic Gardens impacts of climate change 28 30 FROM THE CHAIRMAN

n 17 March, sadly, the doors to the pandemic have certainly been felt, the Foundation & Friends with all our revenue-raising activities “We must remain OCottage and the Growing cancelled for the foreseeable future. Friends Nursery were closed, our As the world continues to adapt innovative, agile and volunteer roles suspended, and all to this new way of living, with physical events and exhibitions postponed or interaction restricted, it is important lean where we can” cancelled. Our team is observing all for us to retain our cherished lines of social distancing practices, working communication with our members and benefit, and although we will not be from home, to pivot the organisation the broader community, including the dispensing with the printed magazine, and keep us viable during these ongoing distribution of The Gardens we must remain innovative, agile and unprecedented times. All costs have magazine, in order to keep familiarity lean where we can at this time. been minimised where possible. We and comfort within our everyday lives. Our new digital magazine offers are a small charity, and the effects of Our magazine is loved as a member us many untapped opportunities as a new portal to share information about Foundation & Friends and the Botanic Gardens with the world. Technology will help us reach further, making it possible for us to connect and communicate with a broader community. Whether you are a longstanding Foundation & Friends member or someone who is reading about the organisation for the first time, we invite you to embrace this change. We welcome any feedback you may have for us. It is through connectivity and sharing of information that we can reinforce the strength of our community, and in time, return to a ‘new normal’ together. While this winter will be a season of hibernation for us, the work of the Photos: Simone Cottrell, Carrie Alexander, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Carrie Alexander, Photos: Simone Cottrell,

4 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 Botanic Gardens powers on. There has been enormous regrowth and rebirth in many areas of our Gardens affected by fire and storm damage over summer and autumn, which is a testament to the resilience of the teams, including volunteers working on the ground at all three Gardens. The Horticulture team is taking every precaution, practising social distancing and following strict health guidelines, to continue their vital work, with only key personnel remaining onsite at this stage.

NEW INITIATIVES Our exhibitions have suffered greatly during the pandemic. The PL NTS exhibition had to be moved online but happily will hang in Lion Gate Lodge in July. The online gallery was visited by thousands of people, providing colour and light during a dark time. The Fungi exhibition will now be combined with Botanica, and this has been deferred to autumn 2021. The difficult decision was made to move the 20th anniversary celebration of Artisans in the Gardens to October 2021. We thank our artists and Foundation & Friends volunteers for being flexible with these changes. The team at Foundation & Friends has been working hard, innovatively Memories of Home: Night and remotely, to launch the Botanic Queen by Neha Gupte, Gardens Gallery, our new ecommerce from PL NTS exhibition platform. Following our Mother’s Day promotion, the Gallery now hosts new items from some of our favourite artists In February, we had the opportunity Jimmy has been a great supporter in Cultivate, a new pop-up exhibition, to appear on the largest high-definition and friend to Foundation & Friends which will hang in Lion Gate Lodge in digital billboard in the US as part of over many years, and his passion and October. See page 18 for a full update a campaign to bring global awareness contributions will be sorely missed. on all of our exhibitions. to Australia’s bushfire crisis. Known as I would like to take this opportunity If you visited the Garden in summer Godzilla, the screen in Times Square, to welcome John Siemon, Curator you will have noticed that our water New York City, is about the size of a Manager of the Australian Botanic features had been decommissioned. football field. We responded quickly, Garden Mount Annan, to the role The Horticulture team works closely and the turnaround of the necessary of Acting Director of Horticulture with Sydney Water on the water usage advertising collateral was achieved in Management of the Botanic Gardens plan to ensure they are protecting our a weekend by our amazing team. This and Centennial Parklands. As many Living Collection while also proactively helped us maximise our opportunity of you may already know, John is reducing water usage. We are actively to spread the word abroad about the an active member and supporter working on a long-term water solution Vital Science work being completed of Foundation & Friends. and irrigation masterplan, with the by scientists at our Botanic Gardens. We hope we can welcome you goal of making our Botanic Gardens Our Bequest Information Forum in back to more events at the Gardens independent of potable water for the March was a successful new initiative. soon. In the meantime, keep safe majority of the Living Collections. A panel of three professionals led an and well, and enjoy the activities we engaging discussion regarding estate have to offer you online. We look planning for bequests and related forward to your ongoing support, “The online gallery issues. We intend to now make these critical for seeing us through, and regular events, for our community to the time when we can again meet was visited by engage and consider their legacy. in person to enjoy and celebrate Finally, a farewell to Jimmy Turner, our wonderful Gardens together. thousands of people” our outgoing Director of Horticulture. Ian Breedon Photos: Simone Cottrell, Carrie Alexander, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Carrie Alexander, Photos: Simone Cottrell,

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 5 CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT

Caption

hat a difference a magazine The effects of climate change that cycle makes. In the last we have recently experienced really Wedition we spoke of raging highlight the importance of all the and devastating bushfires, and our scientific work that is already being precious Botanic Gardens dying from done by our scientists at PlantBank at drought. Since then we’ve experienced the Australian Botanic Garden Mount storms, flooding and now the global Annan, and the incredible work that threat of a pandemic. These are quite will be done once the new Australian unbelievable times that we live in. Institute of Botanical Science opens. These crises have had a significant Although the PL NTS exhibition was financial impact on the Foundation & postponed, I am pleased to announce Friends organisation. Growing Friends that it will return to Lion Gate Lodge has temporarily shut, our national and in July. In the meantime, the team has international tours, exhibitions and launched an online store, The Botanic “There has been events are cancelled or postponed, Gardens Gallery, to preview and sell amazing regrowth and our volunteer roles have been our talented artists’ works. Proceeds suspended. It will be a rocky road from sales directly support Foundation throughout our Botanic to recovery, and with the help and & Friends and the artists. Read more Gardens, and it’s a joy support of the Board and staff, we are about the online gallery on page 18. working hard to ensure the stability As we navigate this uncertain time, seeing so much colour and longevity of the organisation. I would like to extend my sincere thanks and life returning to our Despite the challenges we face, to our members and supporters – your there have also been numerous wins patronage to the organisation is more precious green spaces” to celebrate. The team at Foundation valuable now than ever before. We are & Friends has never been busier, and a strong community, and together we I’m so proud of their hard work and will make our way through these murky dedication. In February, the bushfire waters and return to a sense of normal. appeal appeared in Times Square, New There has been amazing regrowth York City, on the biggest digital screen and new life sprouting throughout our in the US. It was amazing to see us on devastated Botanic Gardens, and it’s an international stage, gaining support a joy seeing so much colour and life for causes that matter to us. I ask that returning to our precious green spaces. you consider supporting the appeal as I look forward to welcoming you back we near the end of the financial year, to some of our community events at as any donation – big or small – makes the Gardens when circumstances allow a huge difference to the vital work of – hopefully that won‘t be too far away. the Botanic Gardens. Melissa Ellis Photos: Carrie Alexander, Melissa Ellis, Enzo Amato © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Melissa Ellis, Enzo Amato © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Carrie Alexander,

6 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 FOUNDATION & FRIENDS’ NEWS

HAVE YOUR SAY AND WIN We would love to hear about how you’ve remained connected with your Botanic Gardens during lockdown. Three lucky readers will each win a copy ORIENTAL GARDEN TOUR of Charles Darwin: Scientists Who Changed the World by Anita Croy. A spirit of adventure is a very apt Featuring creative layouts and colourful pictures, this 64-page hardcover book description for our tour of the Oriental is designed to introduce 8–12 year-olds to Darwin’s theory of evolution in an Garden at the Royal Botanic Garden! engaging, easy-to-understand way. Readers The Garden was beautiful in the rain, will discover how species became so diverse, and Relle Mott’s informative talk added and other curious facts of nature. Part of a to the experience. Normally I would series teaching young people about science probably not choose to explore the and society, it also looks at why Darwin’s Garden in heavy rain, however I am so contemporaries found it hard to accept his glad to have been there to see it in a theories. We have three copies to give away. different light. Thank you for providing Email [email protected] me with another new adventure, and or write to Letters, Foundation & Friends, my shoes have dried out at last. Cottage 6, Mrs Macquaries Rd, Sydney Maureen King NSW 2000 by 1 July. Congratulations to Maureen King, Marilyn Pryor and Narelle TOMATO FESTIVAL ART CLASS Lovell, who have each won a copy of Charlotte Thodey’s short course during Gardener’s Quiz & Puzzle Book by Simon Tomato Festival Sydney was delightful. Akeroyd and Dr Gareth Moore. Her selection of tomatoes grouped in various bowls gave all 12 of us a great and varied selection to paint. Charlotte OUT & ABOUT IN YOUR GARDENS generously provided all the paints and brushes for those who came without supplies, and spent her time moving among us encouragingly and helpfully, and most of all with that easy charm of hers! I would recommend this class to anyone as an introduction to her longer classes. Thank you Charlotte, you are a treasure. Marilyn Pryor

ONLINE PL NTS EXHIBITION Thank you, thank you, thank you for 1 2 this wonderful online show. It is so uplifting, especially as I am confined to quarters. I left Sydney for country Queensland three years ago, and miss the Royal Botanic Garden. Your lovely T-shirts still make great nightwear! Narelle Lovell

Dolche I by Jenny Fusca is in the PL NTS exhibition 3 4

1. Royal Botanic Garden historian and horticulturist Paul Nicholson (left) with Mark Hovane, a 2019 Garden Design Series host, at the first 2020 GDS event. 2. Lisa Ellis (left), host of the first 2020 Garden Design Series event, with volunteers Tim Jackson and Greg Lamont. 3. The Growing Friends Plant Sale, with social distancing measures in place. 4. Growing Friends volunteers (from left) Paula Mohacsi, John Pryde and Raoul de Ferranti at the Tomato Festival. Photos: Carrie Alexander, Melissa Ellis, Enzo Amato © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Melissa Ellis, Enzo Amato © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Carrie Alexander,

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 7 FOUNDATION & FRIENDS’ NEWS

LOCKDOWN LISTENING & DISCOVERY

While events at the Botanic Gardens with fascinating stories about plants, have been cancelled or postponed science and culture. rbgsyd.nsw.gov. due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the au/Science/Branch-Out following online activities compiled Living Learning by the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Discover fun online activities and will help you stay engaged with the resources for families, schools and Gardens and the natural world. communities. rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/ Virtual Tours Living-learning Explore the plants, animals, scientific Gardening work and horticulture of the Gardens Pick up some expert gardening tips, with our immersive virtual tours. The including how to grow paper daisies, Rainforest Walk shows the rainforest flannel flowers, waratahs and other at the Royal Botanic Garden, while native plants, as well as ideas for the the Woodland Wander (below) allows spring garden and the best growing you to explore the Cumberland Plain conditions for various types of herbs. Woodland at the Australian Botanic rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Gardening Garden Mount Annan. Both tours are Botanic Gardens Gallery SYDNEY SCIENCE TRAIL accompanied by beautiful birdsong. Visit our new online gallery to view The Australian Museum and the Royal rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/VirtualTours a selection of beautiful artworks Botanic Garden have come together Listen Up from our exhibitions. You can also to celebrate contemporary Australian Sit back in a comfy chair and enjoy purchase the artworks as well as a science for National Science Week, 25 episodes of the Royal Botanic range of other garden-related gifts. with a wide range of online activities, Garden’s Branch Out podcast series, botanicgardensgallery.com.au talks, panel conversations and shows. Available online from 15 August to 15 September, Sydney Science Trail will offer a virtual experience by immersing visitors in beautifully illustrated digital trails set among the Royal Botanic Garden and the Australian Museum. A diverse range of activities, digital exhibitions, live-streamed talks and demonstrations will be delivered by world-renowned scientists, curators and researchers as part of the online program. The Botanic Gardens’ Team Leader of Education and Community Programs, Christian Eckardt, says the Science Week program will help to raise the profile of science among members of the wider community. “We hope that this diverse online digital platform will help increase the science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) literacy NEW ACTING DIRECTOR levels of the participating school Curator Manager of the Australian communities and beyond,” he says. Botanic Garden Mount Annan, “We would also like to inspire the John Siemon, is currently Acting younger generation to pursue Director of Horticulture, following careers in science.” the departure of Jimmy Turner to From next year, the program will commence his new role in Utah, continue to be available digitally, US. John will oversee multiple and it will also be onsite across the projects across the three Gardens institutions, creating a hotspot of and the Domain until a permanent scientific discovery in Sydney’s CBD. director is appointed. To take part, visit rbgsyd.nsw.gov. au/Sydney-Science-Trail Photos: Sharon’s Photography, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photography, Photos: Sharon’s

8 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

am certain that if someone had historically significant landmarks across told you last August that over the the three Gardens. They certainly have MARGARET FLOCKTON 2020 I next nine months you will face not been idle during this time, and Now in its 17th year, the Margaret unprecedented bushfires, drought, have used the opportunity of less Flockton Award commemorates floods, extreme storms and a global visitation to work on areas that are the vast contribution made to pandemic, you would have told them usually more difficult to access and Australian scientific botanical that they had gone mad. manage with larger visitor numbers. illustration by Margaret Flockton, I can honestly say that, yes, it has With the extensive work taking place, who was appointed as the first been challenging and we have a long the Gardens will be a fantastic sight botanic illustrator for the Royal way to go, but the level of agility and for visitors as they start transitioning Botanic Garden in 1901. The innovation coming from the teams at back, and, as always, the Gardens Garden’s collection includes the Botanic Gardens has consistently continue to provide a much-needed nearly 1000 of her illustrations. impressed me. COVID-19 will certainly refuge for people and wildlife. The committee received 63 provide the opportunity to introduce Ahead of construction of the new submissions from artists around many new programs and processes National Herbarium of NSW at the the world this year, with Bulgaria, that will positively change the way Australian Botanic Garden Mount Switzerland and Norway being we work and engage with visitors Annan later this year, the Garden’s represented for the first time. Ink and volunteers. It is imperative that Nursery is undergoing a complete was the most favoured medium, we continue to focus on a positive upgrade for the first time in 30 years. followed by pencil then digital way forward and not stand still by The new Nursery, the collections at and mixed media. The three just being reactive. the Australian PlantBank and the new judges were Honorary Research The decision to keep our Gardens Herbarium will strengthen the Garden’s Associate Karen Wilson and open has been based not only on the collaboration, plant conservation botanical illustrators Lesley Elkan latest health advice, but also on the credentials and capacity through the and Catherine Wardrop, all from importance of having access to public new Australian Institute of Botanical the Royal Botanic Garden. spaces during these challenging times. Science. Read more about the new First Prize was awarded to Our dedicated Horticulture team Institute from Chief Botanist Dr Brett Deborah Lambkin from the UK for and essential staff continue to care for Summerell on page 14. her ink illustration of Gastrodia our diverse Living Collections and the Denise Ora sp. nov. (above). To see the other winners and the full exhibition, go to rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/Margaret- Artist’s impression of the new Flockton-Award. The exhibition will National Herbarium of NSW not be on display at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan due to COVID-19 restrictions. This annual award for excellence in scientific botanical illustration is sponsored by the Maple-Brown family and Foundation & Friends. Photos: Sharon’s Photography, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photography, Photos: Sharon’s

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 9 FAREWELL JIMMY

OUR DIRECTOR OF HORTICULTURE JIMMY TURNER HAS TAKEN UP A NEW ROLE IN THE UNITED STATES, HAVING CONTRIBUTED IMMEASURABLY TO THE BOTANIC GARDENS WITH HIS PASSION, LEADERSHIP AND HARD WORK

fter working as the Director budgeted and managed everything Otherwise, it’s our work in improving of Horticultural Management as three separate entities. Merging the Gardens. We’ve done so much to Aat the Botanic Gardens & with the Parklands was easy compared raise the profile of horticulture itself. Centennial Parklands for six years, to merging the three Gardens so they Horticulture was like the evil stepsister Jimmy Turner has returned to the US, could work as a seamless group with you kept in the back room and didn’t where he is now Executive Director the same processes, thoughts and bring out. We are a botanic garden. It’s of Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City, methods – that was the hardest thing. on the name, and it’s what we should Utah. He will be greatly missed but Then, when I started, I was told that be known for, first and foremost. we wish him well. Melissa Ellis had we don’t weed, we don’t prune, we a chat with Jimmy before he left. don’t fertilise and we don’t water; we What will you take away from Australia basically plant things, then stand out that will be useful in your new role? What have you enjoyed most of the way and let them grow the way Australia is very much more process about living in Australia? nature intended. The Garden looked and strategy oriented than the States. I’ve loved living in Australia. I love like that was how it was done, too. Sometimes it can be a little too much, the people, and the fact that I don’t That wasn’t acceptable to me, so the but the safety culture – the workplace own a car, and can walk everywhere. Garden certainly got a good clean health and safety programs – is much I’ve also loved the Sydney climate. up over the past six years. better. Also the business strategies and Some people think it’s hot and humid how we implement things. It's about the here, and that it gets cold, but they What achievements are you most day-to-day running. The Garden runs are wrong. Texas has all that beat. proud of during your tenure? so differently because it’s a government My partner and I didn’t want to My staff most of all. I love the people funded and run organisation. leave Australia. I really thought this I work with and will miss them the most. might be the last role in my career. Then there’s The Calyx. I’m incredibly What’s your message for your staff? I was hoping I would be here longer, proud of how quickly we built that, Don’t give up. Keep fighting to improve and that we could do more, but this and how we made it a success, and the Garden. It’s a 200-year-old botanic opportunity to become an Executive the way it has continued to grow and garden that pre-dates anything else we Director was just too good. get engagement with the community. do. It is the priority, and at some point I’m still trying to get Australian citizenship so I can come back and retire here, or work here again if the right role comes up at some point.

What were the major challenges when you started your role at the Gardens? It was really changing the ideology and culture. First of all, we were merging the Parklands and our three Botanic Gardens, and that was no easy task, even though Horticulture was probably the least affected group. The biggest challenge, really, was that all three Botanic Gardens worked,

“I love the people I work with and will miss them the most” Photos: Carrie Alexander, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Carrie Alexander,

10 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 “I’m incredibly proud of how quickly we built The Calyx, and how we made it a success, and the way it has continued to grow and get engagement with the community”

someone will give us the money we if I didn’t flounder around trying to What’s your favourite thing? need to keep improving the Garden find my way. I’m not sure clear goals My favourite thing is not having and adding further collections. It’s not would have been better at that point. a favourite thing. There’s a Robert a historical vista that needs to be kept I don’t have any regrets for 16-year-old Heinlein quote I like: “Specialisation pristine. Joseph Maiden and Charles Jimmy, socially, physically, emotionally. is for insects.” I literally fall in love with Moore would roll in their graves if it I made some mistakes, but they were a different thing every day, whether were to become a historical display. necessary I think for getting were I am. it’s a plant group, a genus or way of I don’t think I’d change a single thing cultivating. It’s the constant love affair What advice would you give in my life. All those things that were that I have with horticulture, and the to 16-year-old Jimmy? terrible at the time – and there were fact that there‘s always something new I don’t know if I would tell him much of some terrible things in my life – all led that I haven’t yet thought about, learnt anything. I don’t think I would be who to me being resilient and adaptable. about, seen or known. Horticulture is I am today, and have the skills I have, You don’t unwind that ball of string. a never-ending box of information. Photos: Carrie Alexander, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Carrie Alexander,

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 11 OUR PLANTS DONATE OUR TO DAY FUTURE

DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND CHIEF BOTANIST DR BRETT SUMMERELL REFLECTS ON THE IMPACT OF DROUGHT, BUSHFIRE AND COVID-19 ON THE BOTANIC GARDENS, AND ONGOING THREATS TO PLANTS AND ANIMALS

he past year has been a rough The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney is store seed in our seed vaults, but it time for plants in Australia, with Australia’s oldest scientific organisation, is clear we urgently need to do more. T2019 being the hottest and driest and experts have been researching and Foundation and Friends of the year on record, and millions of hectares documenting Australian plants for 204 Botanic Gardens (and Friends of the of bush and billions of plants devastated years. In all this time, it is hard to think Gardens before that) have assisted us in the 2019/20 bushfire season. of a time when our expertise has been with these programs and activities for Our Botanic Gardens, and the work more needed. The task ahead to ensure years. Our impact would be much less, we do conserving plants, have been Australian plants are not forced into and our capacity all the poorer, without heavily impacted by these events. All extinction is massive, and is expected this support. We are grateful for this our Gardens are in desperate need of to become more difficult as global partnership, which will allow us to a sustainable water supply to ensure temperatures rise and rainfall becomes expand our work to maintain resilient, resilience from the impacts of climate less reliable. We are very fortunate to sustainable gardens, and protect and change. The recent Gospers Mountain have had support to create facilities conserve plants (and the animals that bushfire directly impacted the Blue such as the Australian PlantBank, and depend on them) in the natural world. Mountains Botanic Garden Mount programs to collect, understand and Dr Brett Summerell Tomah and the Tomah Spur bushland that we look after. Many experimental sites, where we were rewilding at-risk threatened species, were burnt and will take time to replace or recover. The impact on the Gardens and their dedicated staff has been immense. But botanic gardens are resilient, as is the Australian bush, and there is a huge need for our reflective spaces and for the expertise of our staff. Our Gardens are important places for people to restore their relationship with a harsh world, which is an essential requirement when dealing with issues like drought, bushfire and now COVID-19. There is no sign of these difficulties letting up, and the importance of our Botanic Gardens as spaces of inspiration and reflection is likely to grow over time.

12 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 BE PART OF THE SOLUTION Scientists and horticulturists at the and elevate vital science undertaken challenges facing the world today. Botanic Gardens are working on real across the Botanic Gardens. Our aim The Institute consists of physical and solutions to help ensure our plant life is for the Institute to become the virtual scientific collections, services can withstand a changing climate. Our nation’s premier botanical research and facilities, as illustrated below, aim is to prevent the extinction of not organisation, providing visionary at all three of our Botanic Gardens. only our plants but also animals that leadership to advance the discovery, You can be part of this journey. rely on them, including you and me. understanding and conservation Will you help us make a difference The newly established Australian of plants. It will drive conservation in the fight to protect and conserve Institute of Botanical Science will unite solutions to critical environmental our precious plants?

Learn more about the Australian Institute of Botanical Science on page 15

HOW YOU CAN HELP DONATE TODAY With the end of the financial year approaching, we ask that you consider To make a donation, visit making a tax-deductible donation to help protect our plants and our future. botanicalscience.org.au/donate By supporting our work, you are helping us: Should you have any questions sustain our beautiful Botanic Gardens for the enjoyment of all who love them about donating, please email advance our vital science and combat climate change [email protected]. enable the scientists and horticulturists at the Gardens to better protect our gov.au or call (02) 9231 8182. plants and our future.

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 13 DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND CHIEF BOTANIST’S REPORT

Brett Summerell at the conservation area at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah after recent bushfires THE AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BOTANICAL SCIENCE

A NEW STATE-OF-THE-ART FACILITY BEING CONSTRUCTED AT THE AUSTRALIAN BOTANIC GARDEN MOUNT ANNAN WILL BE A VITAL HUB FOR THE DIVERSE LIVING AND VIRTUAL RESOURCES OF ALL THREE BOTANIC GARDENS

he past six months or so have this country has experienced, have that, we need to be pre-emptive had a huge impact on the natural been exacerbated by climate change. and ready to ensure the survival Tworld, especially plants. Bushfires These catastrophic events will become of Australia’s unique plant life. across millions of hectares of bushland more frequent and intense, based on This scenario, coupled with the have seen billions of trees, shrubs and the consensus of scientific projections opportunities provided by the new other plant life go up in flames. Some from research groups worldwide. Given National Herbarium of NSW being plants will survive, some will be lost, constructed at the Australian Botanic and some will thrive in response to Garden Mount Annan, highlight the the fire. Species respond in different national and international importance ways, requiring different levels of “We must amplify our of the Botanic Gardens’ science and support to ensure their survival. activities to ensure the education programs through the Make no mistake, these fires that survival of all plants” establishment of the new Australian followed one of the worst droughts Institute of Botanical Science.

14 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 A SCIENTIFIC COLLABORATION The Australian Institute of Botanical Science consists of the physical and virtual scientific collections, services and facilities at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan and the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Tomah. Following are the various components of the Institute.

National Herbarium of NSW The Herbarium is one of the most significant botanical resources in the Southern Hemisphere, housing more than 1.43 million plant specimens. Scientists regularly discover, document and classify plants and algae, and seek to understand their relationships and evolution. We explore ecosystems to document what is there and discover new species, and there are still many to be found. Every year, more than 8000 botanical specimens are added to the Herbarium collection, which is essential for informing and making decisions Jessica Wait hand-pollinating about the conservation and management of our natural environment. Every Prasophyllum bagoense on Bago specimen is also being captured as a high-resolution image. By the time the Plateau in the Snowy Mountains collection is moved to the Herbarium’s new location at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan, every single specimen will be fully accessible online.

Australian PlantBank Research Centre for Located at the Australian Botanic Ecosystem Resilience Garden Mount Annan, PlantBank Based at the Royal Botanic Garden is the award-winning home of plant Sydney, the new Research Centre conservation research, germplasm for Ecosystem Resilience (ReCER) collection and storage in New South will provide evidence-based Wales. Its seed and tissue culture information for restoring, repairing collections provide an insurance and protecting native ecosystems policy against extinction of native confronted by climate change, plants in the wild. Approximately degradation and invasive species. Gavin Phillips collecting Carex half the nearly 5000 species of It will include the flagship Restore archeri specimens at Blue Lake plants found in New South Wales & Renew project, with programs on in Kosciuszko National Park are stored in PlantBank’s seed the genetics of threatened species, vault, and about 67 per cent of as well as diseases affecting plants threatened species from across in gardens, parks and our natural Science has always been at the core the state have been carefully environments, which will provide of the Royal Botanic Garden’s activities, collected and are stored here. information to help habitats. with it being Australia’s oldest scientific organisation. In the earliest days of Sydney, its role was to develop and establish economic industries and enterprises based on plants, then in the 20th century the focus shifted to documenting the flora of New South Wales and Australia. Now, with many plants under threat of extinction, there is an urgent impetus to ensure species are safeguarded. In its various guises, the Garden and its scientists have made substantial and prolonged contributions to documenting, understanding and protecting plant life in Australia. As a result of our current extinction crisis, we must amplify our activities in botanical science, plant conservation and community education, and prepare the next generation of researchers to ensure the survival of plants, and all forms of life that depend on them. The Australian PlantBank

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 15 Living Collections Daniel Solander Library Centre for Learning The Living Collections at the Royal Established in 1852, the Daniel and Engagement Botanic Garden Sydney, the Blue Solander Library, located in the The Gardens’ scientific programs Mountains Botanic Garden Mount Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, support education and outreach Tomah and the Australian Botanic is the oldest botanical research for the whole community, especially Garden Mount Annan each contain library in Australia. Its world-class those targeted at STEM (science, a scientific resource of wild-sourced collections contain more than technology, engineering and living plant material of known 250,000 items, including materials maths) programs for school-aged provenance for use in a range of as diverse as books, journals, maps, children. Through curriculum- scientific endeavours. The Gardens’ manuscripts, historic photographs, aligned or formal programs and nurseries and propagation facilities botanical illustrations, archives, informal programs, the Centre are critical in the production of archaeological artefacts and for Learning and Engagement plants for use in supplementing memorabilia, covering the areas provides transformative learning at-risk plant populations in the of science, history and culture. experiences, which help to grow wild. It is likely that these living people’s connections, curiosity collections contain plants that and understanding of nature, could be used to develop bush STEM, culture and community. The foods, new plants for horticulture Centre connects higher education and new medicines. The Gardens “ The Living Collections programs, science communication will be working with partners to conta i n wild-sou rced and outreach, to highlight the explore this potential in the future. living plant material” importance of plants in our lives.

SUSTAINING LIFE The Connections Garden The Gardens’ research programs are at the Australian Botanic focused on themes that centre around Garden Mount Annan the importance of plants in our lives, and the need to conserve and protect them for everyone’s benefit. They focus on the need to provide a knowledge hub for Australian and New South Wales flora, documenting and describing new plants across the environment, conserving and protecting threatened species, and supporting and establishing resilient ecosystems, whether they be in the bush or in urban environments. The new Australian Institute of Botanical Science will serve this purpose. Plants are central to the existence of all life on our planet, and they are under threat now in a way that has never before been experienced. It is imperative, now more than ever, for the Australian Institute of Botanical Science to be established, and there is so much work to be done. Your support is hugely appreciated! Dr Brett Summerell

HOW YOU CAN HELP To support your Gardens, visit botanicalscience.org.au/donate, call Foundation & Friends on (02) 9231 8182 or email foundation.friends@rbgsyd. nsw.gov.au. Thank you. Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens

16 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 VALE SHIRLEY STACKHOUSE

IMMERSED IN HORTICULTURE FROM A YOUNG AGE, SHIRLEY STACKHOUSE GREW TO BECOME A HOUSEHOLD NAME, AN ICONIC GARDENING PERSONALITY AND AN UNRIVALLED SUPPORTER OF THE BOTANIC GARDENS

he late Shirley Stackhouse made appeared with the headline ‘Demand an extraordinary contribution to makes 1968 the year of the rose’. Tthe Botanic Gardens and was a In 1970, when her youngest child cherished Life Member of Foundation Geoffrey began school, Shirley went & Friends, an appointment reserved to Ryde School of Horticulture to gain for those who have shown exceptional her Certificate in Horticulture. There passion and dedication. Recently, she she flourished, made lifelong friends also generously bequeathed her art and started to cement her place in collection to Foundation & Friends, and Sydney’s horticultural community. we hope to be exhibiting this soon. Shirley’s gardening advice column Shirley‘s passion for gardening was in The Sydney Morning Herald ran for fostered by her mother and grandfather more than 30 years. She also became at the family’s rose business, Pacific the gardening contributor for Woman’s Nurseries. As a child she was known to Day and Belle magazines, and in 1980 Shirley among assist customers when they phoned for her first book, Shirley Stackhouse’s her plants in 2005 guidance on the care of their roses. Gardening Year, was published. After graduating from Brisbane Girls When Friends of the Botanic Gardens knowledge, but also through her charm, Grammar School, Shirley did secretarial was formed in 1982, with Sir Rupert warmth, friendliness and passion for work to pay her way through art school, Myers as President, Shirley was on the growing plants. She personally spoke and soon began selling her paintings foundation committee. Not long after to many thousands of gardeners and of flowers and gardens. She then went this, she started leading gardening answered as many letters. Shirley was on a working holiday to New Zealand, tours for the Friends organisation. awarded an Order of Australia in 2005 as a nurse’s aide, and it was there that In the mid-1980s, Shirley began her for her contribution to horticulture. she met her future husband, journalist radio career on 2UE. Her gardening Shirley died peacefully in Sydney and correspondent John Stackhouse. show ‘Over the Fence’, loved for its on 4 March, aged 92, after a short John and Shirley married in 1954 good advice and humour, ran for nearly illness. She is survived by her four at Shirley’s family property in Brisbane. two decades, co-hosted initially with children, Jennifer, Peter, Katie and They lived in Melbourne, Singapore the late Gary O’Callaghan MBE (aka Geoffrey, and five grandchildren. Her and Papua New Guinea before settling Sammy Sparrow) then Phil Haldeman. husband, John, who had worked as back in Brisbane, where John took up Shirley achieved acclaim not just an aviation and defence journalist a job with ABC TV news and Shirley by sharing her extensive gardening and editor, died last year. worked for the ABC. When John later moved to Channel 9 in Sydney, the Tending her Killara family settled in Killara, where they garden in 1975 lived for more than 40 years, creating a garden filled with old-fashioned roses, camellias, bluebells, cats and dogs. In the late ‘60s, Shirley’s gardening and media career began to take off. When the gardening writer for The Sydney Morning Herald became ill, John volunteered his wife’s services. Shirley wrote a piece on roses, which

“Shirley’s top-rating gardening show ran for nearly two decades” Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 17 Winter Bloom by Flora Waycott

THE BOTANIC GARDENS GALLERY

WHEN EVENTS WERE CANCELLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY EARLIER THIS YEAR, THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN’S PL NTS EXHIBITION WAS MOVED ONLINE, INSPIRING THE CREATION OF A NEW ECOMMERCE STORE

ike many other organisations, our community at large. This is why This physical exhibition will be an we watched our entire events I am so pleased to share that the opportunity to view these stunning Lcalendar collapse over the course PL NTS exhibition will hang in Lion artworks in person, and a chance to of a few days in March, including all our Gate Lodge from Saturday 25 July stretch your legs in your Garden in the exhibitions, with the introduction of the to Sunday 2 August, albeit with fresh winter air. As a bonus, there will COVID-19 restrictions. At the time, we guidelines in place to protect your be some new work exhibited that were installing the much-anticipated health and safety as we transition wasn’t displayed online. PL NTS exhibition at Lion Gate Lodge, back to a new ‘normal’ way of life. When PL NTS was moved online, so we had to de-install it and move we made the heartbreaking decision the exhibition online. to postpone and pivot our winter While we are extremely fortunate “We are fortunate that and spring exhibitions. Foundation that we could share this exhibition & Friends exhibitions involve the online, the loss of the physical we could share this whole community, from an army of exhibition was devastating for our enthusiastic volunteers to the many artists, volunteers, members and exhibition online” talented and hardworking artists who

18 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 Eucalyptus tereticornis I Know That Something by Antony Makhlouf Good is Going to Happen by Nicola Woodcock

Memories of Home: Bird of Paradise by Neha Gupte

work behind the scenes. Given the state of things, we felt postponement Entoloma virescens by Anna Voytsekovich of these exhibitions would better serve all of these contributors when they returned. As such, our planned winter exhibition titled Fungi, which was to be announced in this issue of the magazine, has been postponed until autumn 2021, when it will exhibit in combination with Botanica. Our 20th anniversary of Artisans in the Gardens has also been postponed. Every year this beloved exhibition is crowded with both art and people, and it is therefore not possible to deliver in the current climate. “It has been a very sad and difficult decision to come to,“ says Artisans curator Sandy Crichton. ”On a positive note, our aim is to have an amazing exhibition in 2021. The committee and I can’t wait for next year.” Although we have made these postponements with heavy hearts, when one door closes, another one opens, and this time that door has led us to exhibiting online.

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 19 Forever Fields by Laura Blythman “Art is a powerful tool of connection … it brings people together”

Cultivate, which will be a hybrid online and physical exhibition, will be showcasing the very best artworks from our exhibitions over the years, with favourites from Botanica, Artisans in the Gardens, Wild Thing, PL NTS and Treecycle exhibiting. This treasury of art will allow you to explore the beautiful connection of art with your Botanic Gardens. While the full roster of Cultivate artists will be revealed in the spring issue of the magazine, we have curated a handful of artists from the following exhibitions for our online launch. Wild Thing Eggpicnic, Rachel Hollis and Lenny Pelling, who will all take us on a journey celebrating the wildlife that lives in your three Botanic Gardens. Artisans in the Gardens Luke Abbott, Shimara Carlow and Nicole Jakins, with their bespoke natured-inspired pieces. Botanica Anna Voytsekovich, Melinda Edstein and Lauren Sahu-Khan, showcasing pieces of their beautiful contemporary NEW ONLINE SHOP Australian-made products, including scientific artwork. The PL NTS exhibition was our first some honey from the Royal Botanic PL NTS exhibitions foray in the digital space, Garden Sydney, luxury small-batch Samantha Dennis, Christina McLean, and feedback we have received from tea by Tea Tribe, Straniero Olive Oil with her hand-built and hand-painted our members and artists has been from New South Wales, a plant from stoneware clay ceramics, and Hunter overwhelmingly supportive. Given our Growing Friends Nursery, and Candles, revealing our connection to that we will be dealing with ongoing some other enticing items. plants through their work. restrictions for the foreseeable future, As we proceed with exhibitions this project grew and evolved into going forward, we’ll be able to make A SPECIAL CONNECTION an exciting new idea – an online some artworks and handmade items You may ask why we choose to exhibit pop-up shop under the banner of available online as well as in person. art in a Botanic Garden. Our answer a new ecommerce store called the For those of you who missed out on has been the same over the 35 years Botanic Gardens Gallery. experiencing our first online gallery that Foundation & Friends has brought You may have noticed our quiet, and shop, some of these items, and you art exhibitions, and it’s that art soft launch of the website when we more, are now available in the Botanic connects people, and the art that we trialled it with curated items for a Gardens Gallery. You will find these exhibit connects you to your Gardens. special Mother’s Day pop-up shop at botanicgardensgallery.com.au. Art is a powerful tool of connection, in April and May. We showcased as it has been throughout history. It stunning ceramics by Trade the Mark, CULTIVATE EXHIBITION brings people together, and it allows heavenly scented candles by Hunter We are also pleased to announce the us to pause, to reflect, to wonder, to Candles, oil paintings by Ali Wood launch of Cultivate on the new Botanic share and, above all, to hope. and watercolour and paper collages Gardens Gallery website, where you A crisis has a way of distilling what’s by Laura Blythman, among other can enjoy a preview of this exciting important to people personally, and to garden-inspired artworks and gifts. exhibition. This name will be familiar to a culture at large. Within this current Our Mother’s Day hampers were long-term members, and we decided crisis, it is our sincere hope that when especially popular. These featured to bring it back, this time with a twist. we get to the other side, there will still

20 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 1 1. Morning Chorus by Lenny Pelling. 2. Spotted Pardalote by Eggpicnic. 3. Christmas Bells by Lauren Sahu-Khan. 4. Bottlebrush by Melinda Edstein. 5. Cladia fuliginosa by Anna Voytsekovich.

be a vibrant arts culture for us all to return to and benefit from. That’s where you come in. We need you to support the arts during this time. We need you to visit our exhibitions and share them on your social media, or with your friends. We need you to get lost inside a painting from one of our many talented artists, and if you have the means to do so, to support the arts and Foundation & Friends by purchasing something from the exhibition – whether it’s a painting, a raffle ticket or a handmade item. These purchases will help us continue our support of science, horticulture, conservation and education within your Botanic Gardens. We would like to thank each and every individual who has contributed to our exhibitions, and we wish to extend our gratitude to members for supporting Foundation & Friends, the arts and the environment during these challenging times. Our exhibitions wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated and passionate 2 3 volunteers, and we would like to say a heartfelt thank you from Foundation & Friends to all our volunteer groups, from the Volunteer Exhibition Team to the Volunteer Works Team, the Volunteer Caterers and the Growing Friends Volunteers. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Botanic Gardens, where we greatly anticipate reconnecting with our membership, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming exhibitions sometime this year. 4 5 Stephanie Chambers, Exhibitions Project Manager

BOTANIC GARDENS GALLERY To view our exciting online Cultivate exhibition or purchase high-quality artworks and garden-inspired gifts, including jewellery and scarves, visit botanicgardensgallery.com.au

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 21 To u r review

WESTERN AUSTRALIA in spring

Stony Hill, Torndirrup National Park

SOUTH-WESTERN AUSTRALIA IS RICH WITH FLORA THAT IS OFTEN BIGGER, BRIGHTER AND BOLDER THAN OUR LOCAL SPECIES, AS MEMBERS DISCOVERED ON A FOUNDATION & FRIENDS TOUR TO THE AREA LAST SPRING

or people used to Australia’s east Australia, which have been separated plants that come from the south-east coast flora, experiencing the flora by the arid Nullarbor Plain and Great are closely related to south-western Fand landscapes of south-western Victoria Desert for the past 14 million species that are either bizarrely shaped, Australia is like going into a slightly years. In many cases, small-flowered, brilliantly coloured, exceptionally warped world where many plants are demurely coloured, ‘normal-looking’ large-flowered or all of these. similar to those we know, but strangely different. It’s like looking though a ENTHUSIASTIC TOUR GROUP distorting lens to see familiar genera Our bus trip around the south-west and species but with different growth corner of Western Australia took us habits, foliage and colours. And this anticlockwise, starting in Kings Park in wonder is accompanied by great Perth then driving south, then east as beauty and brilliant colour, in plants far as Hopetoun, north to Hyden and ranging from the mighty to the tiny. back to Perth. We travelled for several One feature of the south-west hours most days, with frequent stops at that makes it compulsive viewing for sites of botanical interest. Our driver, botanists is the sheer diversity of the A vibrant Kennedia coccinea at Graeme Spedding, had reconnoitred flora. Over 10,000 native plants are Mondurup Reserve, Mount Barker the route the previous week, and his known from Western Australia, most of botanical contacts had recommended which are found only in the south-west. some good places for flowers. At every Another feature that has never been “Many plants are similar stop the variety of genera and species quantified, let alone explained, is was overwhelming. Good-natured the botanical weirdness of the flora. to those we know, but Graeme is an excellent person with Numerous plant groups are shared many skills, much local knowledge by south-eastern and south-western strangely different” and touring experience, but it was Photos: Peter Weston © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Peter Weston

22 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 a challenge for him to get us back on This contagion has now spread down the bus when it was time to move on. “The Stirling Range is the flanks of the mountain, destroying Margaret River was our first staging Banksia plants in its path. post outside Perth, and from there one of several extreme Fitzgerald River National Park is the we explored the wind-pruned coastal other ’jewel within a jewel‘ that we heaths, colourful jarrah woodlands and biodiversity hotspots” visited. For us, the botanical star of towering karri forests of the wettest this hyper-diverse hotspot is the royal corner of the state. The local species of Gompholobium scabrum and bright hakea (Hakea victoriae), with its striking of Hardenbergia and Hovea resemble sky blue of Conospermum caeruleum green-veined, red, orange, yellow and their eastern cousins in shape and brought our bus to a screaming halt. white leaves. This species has to be colour but with flowers twice the size, On further investigation we found so seen growing in its native habitat to be while local species of Chorizema and many fantastic but less eye-catching fully appreciated because its vibrant Kennedia flower in a dazzling mix of species that Graeme had to hold the colours are induced by the extreme orange and hot pink that outshines bus‘s horn down until we all returned. nutritional poverty of the stony, sandy, the comparatively dull yellows and highly leached soils of the south coast. reds of their eastern relatives. BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOT The plants that we saw growing in the Walpole Inlet introduced us to the The Stirling Range is one of several more fertile (but nevertheless sandy) fascinating process of sexual deception extreme biodiversity hotspots within soils of Kings Park were plain green. through the insect-like flowers of the the generally ‘hot’ south west. A walk Qualup bells (Pimelea physodes), the hammer orchids Drakaea glyptodon up the lower part of the summit track scarlet banksia (Banksia coccinea), the and D. thynniphila. The flowers mimic on Bluff Knoll revealed scarlet mountain elegant showy banksia (B. speciosa), female thynnine wasps in appearance peas (Gastrolobium rubrum), magenta and other species far too numerous and scent, and are pollinated by male mountain bells (Darwinia leiostyla) and to mention, make this national park wasps who emerge from their pupae the amazing Kingia australis, which a true botanical treasure. a week or two before the females and mimics distantly related grass trees Our sumptuous botanical banquet mistake the flowers for potential mates. (Xanthorrhoea spp.) and is given away came to an end with our last glimpse Each species of Drakaea mimics, and is only by its drumstick-like inflorescences. of the intense sky blue flowers of pollinated by, a different wasp species, This walk also introduced us to one Lechenaultia biloba as we left the avoiding any misunderstandings and of the south west’s ecological train Darling Range to return to Perth. unwanted hybrid progeny. wrecks, Phytophthora cinnamomi, If you would like to see this flora in We then travelled east to Albany, a naturalised root-rotting pathogen, its natural habitat, try to get over to a large country town on the northern which has devastated populations of south-west Western Australia, when shore of the spectacular Princess Royal susceptible plant groups such as the travel is permitted, before more of Harbour. Local national parks provide family Proteaceae. Despite serious the Phytophthora-susceptible and awe-inspiring landscapes (The Gap, attempts to establish and implement heavily cleared species are gone. Natural Bridge and Stony Hill, all in hygiene protocols, the summit plateau Marita Macrae, tour participant and Torndirrup National Park) and more of Bluff Knoll, which was covered in Chair of Pittwater Heritage Foundation, botanical riches (Gull Rock National a dense proteacous heath in 1980, is and Peter Weston, Honorary Research Park). The striking pink and magenta now an unrecognisable sedge-land. Associate, Systematic Botany

Pimelea physodes at East Mount Barren

Drakea glyptodon seen at The Natural Bridge, Coalmine Beach, Walpole Inlet Torndirrup National Park Photos: Peter Weston © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Peter Weston

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 23 ~ PLANTS IN THE ~ GARDENS WE TAKE A LOOK AROUND THE BOTANIC GARDENS TO DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE WONDERFUL PLANTS TO LOOK OUT FOR NEXT TIME YOU VISIT, AND EVEN SOME YOU CAN TAKE HOME TO YOUR OWN GARDEN

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN SYDNEY GARDEN Many of our flowering trees and shrubs are at their best in winter, including our camellia collection. focus As the C. sasanqua cultivars finish flowering, the C. japonica and C. reticulata cultivars begin, ensuring a wonderful display from late autumn to spring. There are many interesting species camellias, too, including the yellow-flowering Camellia nitidissima (below). The aloes are looking spectacular, with their flowers brightening up beds in the Palace Gardens and at the Conservatorium of Music. The cymbidium hybrids flower through winter and into spring – it’s worth a visit to beds 34 and 35 to enjoy these wonderful blooms. The first These dracaenas can only be grown DRAGON’S BLOOD TREE cherry blossom is Prunus ‘Yvonne successfully in the tropics, subtropics Dracaena draco Matthies’ in the Oriental Garden. or another frost-free environment, as Family Asparagaceae These magnificent trees are at their even the lightest frost may kill them. This distinctive species is native to the best in late July and early August. They like full sun, free-draining soil Canary Islands, while many species in Now is a great time to enjoy our and shelter from strong winds. Newly the genus are native to tropical Africa, deciduous trees, as you can see planted trees need to be watered with a couple from south-west US. This the architecture of the canopy and regularly, allowing the soil to dry out most striking species was originally their amazing structure. This year’s a bit between waterings. Established known for the ‘dragon’s blood’ resin plantings of winter colour include plants tolerate long, dry periods quite that comes from the tree and is used Primula obconica ‘Libre series well. Wet or permanently damp soil is in varnishes by violin makers. Deep Blue’, Calendula officinalis likely to rot their roots, however a light Trees may reach 10m tall in ideal ‘Pacific Beauty Mix’, Linaria x mulch can be placed over the root conditions and their natural habitat, hybrida ‘Enchantment’, Nemesia zone until they are well established. gradually forming stout trunks, topped foetens ‘Poetry White’, Viola They grow well in pots. Only move by broad, rounded crowns. They are cornuta ‘Sorbet XP White’ and them into larger containers when their generally unbranched until after their V. cornuta ‘Endurio Tricolour Mix’. first flowering. Tufts of stiff, grey-green roots have totally outgrown the pot. The leaves, about 30cm long, form large Growing Friends nursery sometimes rosettes on the ends of the branches. has potted specimens for sale. Masses of small, greenish-yellow Margaret Hanks, Growing Friends, flowers are followed by clusters of Royal Botanic Garden Sydney berry-like fruits that are bright orange when completely ripe. As trees grow, they develop thick, upward-spreading WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT branches. Mature trees generally Look for trees in Lawn 53, below exhibit tall, straight trunks that are the Conservatorium of Music. Our topped by multiple branches tipped old specimen on Lawn 60, close to with rosettes or tufts of spiky leaves. Farm Cove, fell over in May 2008 Many older specimens may show stilt but continues to grow with vigour. roots above the soil level. Photos: Ruth Foster, Paul Nicholson, John Siemon, Ryan Newett, Shutterstock, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Paul Nicholson, John Siemon, Ryan Newett, Shutterstock, © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Ruth Foster,

24 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 BLUE MOUNTAINS BOTANIC GARDEN Corkscrew hazel (Corylus avellana GROWING ‘Contorta’) is a deciduous shrub FRIENDS that grows slowly, reaching about 5m in 20 years. Through autumn, plants the leaves turn from green to a vibrant yellow, providing contrast in the Garden, and the plant starts exposing its elaborate skeletal structure. As the name suggests, the corkscrew hazel’s stems and branches twist and turn among themselves, unlike any other plant AUSTRALIAN around the Garden. You may be BOTANIC GARDEN familiar with these stems, as they PLANTS FOR GARDENS The Phillip Island hibiscus (Hibiscus are often harvested to be used in IN FIRE-PRONE AREAS insularis) is a critically endangered floristry and home decoration. While many of us would choose species known to come from two In spring, male catkins (flowers) to live surrounded by nature, right very small groups of plants on adorn the shrub‘s bare branches up to our doorstep, in a fire-prone Phillip Island and Norfolk Island. like baubles on a Christmas tree. landscape this isn’t a good idea, but Its large, greenish-yellow flowers The corkscrew hazel can be found you can still have a lovely garden. delightfully change colour to a planted next to the sundial, It‘s important to note all plants pink-magenta shade as they age. opposite the Visitor Centre. will burn if a fire is hot enough, but This tall shrub, growing to 2.5m, if you carefully select your plants makes a beautiful specimen plant, and materials, you can have plants but we have also established a in close proximity to your home. successful hedge in the Garden. Generally speaking, plants whose leaves have a high water or salt content – such as succulents – and those with broad, shiny leaves that have a low oil or resin content, are better options. Also, instead of using highly combustible mulch, you can grow a selection of groundcovers, such as the native Myoporum parvifolium ‘Purpurea’ and Hibbertia scandens (above), or the exotic Dianthus ‘Doris’ with grey leaves and pretty pink flowers. Taller or shrubbier plants are suitable if well spaced and not placed against structures, and if they don‘t have continuous canopies or overhang rooflines. SIGNIFICANT TREE Suitable species include Canna Chinese windmill or Chusan GROWING FRIENDS varieties, with large, shiny leaves palm (Trachycarpus fortunei) and showy flowers, and Crinum Recorded as growing in the Royal PLANT SALES pedunculatum, which has stiff, Botanic Garden in 1895, this tree broad, upright strappy leaves. The Growing Friends nurseries has fan-shaped dark green leaves Smaller trees worth considering at the Royal Botanic Garden that are glaucous underneath. Old are Buckinghamia celsissima Sydney, the Australian Botanic leaves persist as a brown skirt on the and Podocarpus spinulosus. Garden Mount Annan and the Blue trunk, and mats of fibres from old For more about these and other Mountains Botanic Garden Mount leaf bases have been used to make plants, visit rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/ Tomah are all currently closed. a range of household items. It is whatson/Growing-Friends-Nursery. Stay tuned for updates regarding widely cultivated in China and South Also, the NSW Rural Fire Service’s sales and re-opening for business East Asia at high altitudes. These Planning For Bush Fire Protection in a forthcoming edition of the palms can be seen in bed 28 on the document, available at rfs.nsw. Foundation & Friends eNews. north corner of the Palm Grove. gov.au, is great reference tool. Photos: Ruth Foster, Paul Nicholson, John Siemon, Ryan Newett, Shutterstock, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Paul Nicholson, John Siemon, Ryan Newett, Shutterstock, © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Ruth Foster,

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 25 four years, my partner and I decided it was time to live together, so we both moved to Germany. While we were there, the state government turned some of our open-pit mines into F irst Person recreational lake areas (this idea is now also being considered by the NSW Government), and I was lucky enough to be involved in creating CHRISTIAN this amazing community space. In 2014, I got itchy feet again, and ECKARDT my husband wanted to spend some time with his family, so we decided to relocate to Sydney. About a month after arriving here, I started working as the venue manager at The Residences in Centennial Park. During my time there, I set up those beautiful houses as accommodation and event venues. Three years ago, the Botanic Gardens & Centennial Parklands advertised for an education manager, and it was a CHRISTIAN DRAWS ON FORMAL TRAINING AND LIFE EXPERIENCE IN HIS great opportunity for me to combine ROLE AS MANAGER OF EDUCATION AND PROGRAMS AT THE GARDENS my education and events background. Creating the community and school ature and the outdoors have bars in Italy, and a trip to Australia programs for our sites, I focus on been a big part of my life, were on the list in my early 20s. nature, culture and community. Being Nin spite of growing up in the After a few years, I decided that it able to establish programs that ignite concrete jungle of one of the German was time for me to study again. I had the love for the outdoors and science, Democratic Republic’s satellite cities. always liked teaching, languages and while teaching about diversity in nature, My parents took me hiking as soon as history, so I chose to do my Master‘s is a wonderful experience. I could walk, and when I was seven we degree in teaching, English, Italian Over the past years, I have started got our own little garden square, as and History. The years at uni were many new events and programs, from part of the German Schrebergarten intertwined with running my own large-scale community events such as movement, and I was looking after my event company and lots of travel, Science in the Wild, showcasing over own flower beds and vegie patches, which culminated in a six-month 30 exhibitors and attracting over 10,000 with varying degrees of success. stay in Papua New Guinea, where visitors, to theatre programs, park and We spent summers by the beach I conducted field studies for my garden concerts with the Sydney Youth and winters in the Polish, Czech or thesis. After spending a lot of time in Orchestra, Mardi Gras events and German mountains. When Germany Sydney‘s libraries, I left Australia in programs such as Camping 101. reunited, new parts of the world were 2007 with my completed thesis It is really inspiring to work at our open to us and, despite economic and … a long-distance relationship. beautiful sites as part of a great team. challenges, we started travelling Back in Germany, I received an offer Knowing that our work helps to create west and south. My parents made to teach at a German school in Cairo, a new generation of nature advocates sure that exploring and getting to Egypt, and spent two years immersed and scientists is the best reason to know other countries, cultures and in the fascinating culture. Then, after come to work every day! landscapes became a part of my life. My final school years were spent in the Hogwarts-like atmosphere of a 1000-year old monastery. Having finished school, I was not ready to go to uni. Organising events and working in hospitality seemed far more exciting and made travel possible. Winters in Swiss ski resorts, summers at beach

“Creating the programs, I focus on nature, Christian educating children culture and community” about the natural world Photos: Simone Cottrell, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Simone Cottrell,

26 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 Your legacy can benefit the places and causes you love

ESTATE PLANNING FOR YOUR FUTURE

BY CONSIDERING YOUR PASSIONS AND VALUES WHEN WRITING OR AMENDING YOUR WILL, YOU CAN CREATE A LEGACY THAT BENEFITS THE NEXT GENERATION

t an event hosted by Foundation The point of having a Will is to be charitable gifts into their estate plan. & Friends in March, three estate prepared – not for yourself, but for your However, this is the last testament of Aplanning experts shared their family, friends and loved ones. The your wishes and an opportunity to pass insights and guidance with members decision should not be influenced by on your values to the next generation. who are thinking about their futures. how much you have. It is important to By leaving a gift in your Will to support The underlying theme was that ensure your assets are managed and your Botanic Gardens, your generosity everyone should have a Will. While distributed according to your wishes. goes directly to vital horticultural and many of the guests had drafted a Will The idea of legacy gifts is at the scientific efforts in our three Gardens. at some point long ago, for some it no core of our Garden’s history. Governor We recognise that such a decision longer reflected their current familial Lachlan Macquarie had the vision to involves private discussions with loved or financial situation. establish the Royal Botanic Garden, and ones and advisers. Please contact us if Though a sensitive subject, thinking his passion and commitment created you have any questions or would like about how to leave our affairs in order a legacy that has brought pleasure to to confidentially discuss your wishes to is simply another aspect of handling millions of visitors. This is recognised leave a legacy in your Botanic Gardens. our finances. It is especially important and continues today through our legacy to consider a Will as our lives change. program, named in his honour. With growing families, fluctuations More recently, a generous gift in Details to create a legacy in financial circumstances, business the Will of the late Cliffina Rathborne for your Botanic Gardens: growth and relationship changes, an enabled the restoration of a historic Foundation and Friends of the updated Will gives us peace of mind. sandstone cottage in the heart of the Botanic Gardens Charitable Our experts discussed common Royal Botanic Garden, now renamed Fund (ABN: 92 871 129 496) confusions such as Power of Attorney Rathborne Lodge. Cliffina wanted and tax implications, as well as details to commemorate the pleasure the many people had not considered, such Garden brought to her and her late CONTACT DETAILS as what happens if a surviving spouse is husband John. Her legacy has made If you have queries or would like not the primary credit card holder, how a remarkable impact on the Gardens, more information, please call superannuation is regarded among as have the legacies of many others. (02) 9231 8182, email foundation. our assets, and the burden placed on Despite the philanthropic nature [email protected] or surviving loved ones when people do of Australians during their lifetimes, visit rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/bequest not consider the future of their estate. only about 7.5 per cent incorporate Photos: Simone Cottrell, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Simone Cottrell,

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 27 THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDEN SYDNEY rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au

OUR TRADITIONAL HERITAGE

EXPERIENCE THE WORLD’S OLDEST LIVING CULTURE THROUGH A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE CADI JAM ORA: FIRST ENCOUNTERS GARDEN, AND MAKE SOME DELICIOUS DAMPER FROM AN OLD FAMILY RECIPE

boriginal people have experiences where visitors can learn The Cadigal and other Aboriginal maintained and preserved about the heritage and significance communities developed a complex Athe lands of Australia for over of Aboriginal culture, gaining valuable relationship with plants that are native 65,000 years through more than 500 insights. The Garden helps to keep to this site over tens of thousands of different Aboriginal countries that Aboriginal culture alive through a years and, like everyone, depend on make up this unique landscape. sharing of knowledge, advocacy, plants for nourishment and health. A mistake that many people make public events and research. about Aboriginal people is thinking BUSH SURVIVAL PLANT that language, culture, traditions and CADI COUNTRY If you live in Sydney, you've almost beliefs are all the same, but there is In the area known as Sydney, there certainly seen a plant called lomandra. a huge diversity in all these aspects are about 29 different Aboriginal clan It has long and flat green leaves, and across these countries. groups, collectively referred to as the produces heavily scented flowers from The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney Eora Nation. Where the Royal Botanic late winter to early spring. Lomandra plays a fundamental role in teaching Garden is located, the traditional is a very hardy plant, and it is often Aboriginal knowledge, customs and owners are the Cadigal people, who found growing on roadsides and beliefs, and how all these positively have a unique affinity with Sydney’s median strips because it’s so tough impact many of the current social, harbour and surrounding lands. and drought tolerant. economic and environmental issues There are 51 species of lomandra, we face, both short and long term, and they are all native to Australia. not just in New South Wales but also “The Garden helps Lomandra is known as the ‘corner across Australia and around the world. shop’ in many Aboriginal cultures The Garden is one of the largest to keep Aboriginal because it’s such a vital source of deliverers of Aboriginal educational food and other resources that are content for schools, and it provides culture alive” essential for survival.

Guide Terry holding an emu-hunting boomerang Weaving lomandra leaves Photos: Pixabay, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Pixabay,

28 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 A scarred tree in the Garden, carved by local Aboriginal artists

Fa mily recipe

DARREN CHARLWOOD’S FAMILY DAMPER RECIPE Firstly, I would like to ask you all to acknowledge the country you are If you pull lomandra’s long, green standing on, it’s people and elders. blades out of the ground, you can Damper across Australia is chew on the white stem for hydration made from a diverse range of and nourishment, which is handy in seeds, depending on the region. dryer conditions. They taste like raw The damper recipe I use was given cabbage or fresh baby peas. to me by one of my aunts, and Aboriginal people also gathered I see it as the contemporary form the plant’s smooth, strap-shaped of a long and rich tradition. leaves from around the water’s edge and weaved them to make items used Ingredients in everyday life, such as baskets. VIRTUAL TOUR 3 cups of any kind of wheat-based Lomandra seed pods have also been Our Aboriginal Heritage Tour, flour (I use self-raising flour) used for thousands of years by different which includes walking the 50m ¾ cup of water Aboriginal groups across New South Cadigal storyline, is one of the Pinch of salt Wales. These are used to make bread, most popular Aboriginal cultural Good teaspoon of Australian honey commonly called damper. This was tours in Sydney. While we have achieved by grinding the pods into a restrictions on gatherings, you can Method fine, flour-like substance using rocks. still learn about the living histories 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and Through our tours and programs, and culture of the Cadigal people prepare a baking tray by lightly you can learn about this first-hand, as by taking a virtual tour of the Cadi dusting with flour to prevent your well as many other unique Aboriginal Jam Ora: First Encounters Garden. damper sticking to it. uses of our Australian native plants. This tour will be available soon at 2. Stir the salt and honey into the Josh Brown, Project Manager rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/VirtualTours water until completely dissolved. Aboriginal Strategy Place the flour into an appropriately sized mixing bowl and make a well in the centre of the flour. Pour in the water mixture and combine well. 3. Once your dough has a soft, playdough-like consistency, roll it into a ball, then flatten it out to make a large, thick patty. 4. Place the dough onto your prepared baking try and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I enjoy eating damper with butter and golden syrup, or maybe you could make some to accompany a warming winter stew. Remember, though, however you are enjoying your damper, you are participating in and continuing a food tradition that been continuously practised Authentic Indigenous for tens of thousands of years. items at the Garden Photos: Pixabay, © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust © Royal Botanic Gardens Photos: Pixabay,

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 29 THE AUSTRALIAN BOTANIC GARDEN MOUNT ANNAN australianbotanicgarden.com.au

WOLLEMI PINE RESEARCH

PLANT LOVERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE HELPING AUSTRALIAN WOLLEMI PINE RESEARCHERS UNDERSTAND MORE ABOUT THIS ANCIENT TREE BY COMPLETING A CITIZEN SCIENCE SURVEY

ince it was discovered in 1994 “We have already surpassed our According to the survey results growing deep in a canyon in the goal of 1000 responses, and there‘s received so far, the average Wollemi SBlue Mountains, the Wollemi still two months to go,” says Dr Offord. pine seen by participants has just pine has become available in many “We‘ve had responses from people one trunk. Also, some of the biggest other countries. These special conifers who have been growing their Wollemi Wollemi pines growing in the wild have can now be found in gardens, parks pines for 25 years, as well as people reached a staggering 43 metres tall. and backyards across the globe. who got one for Christmas last year, However, the survey reveals that the A citizen science survey, ‘I Spy and everything in-between.” average height of those spotted by a Wollemi Pine’, was launched in The majority of responses so far people is just 2.6 metres. December 2019 by Dr Cathy Offord, have been from Australia (701), the based at the Australian Botanic Garden UK (380), the US (42), Germany (8), Mount Annan, and Dr Heidi Zimmer Canada (7) and New Zealand (6). MORE INFORMATION from the Wollemi Pine Recovery Team. “There has been one response each Dr Offord and Dr Zimmer are trying to from Peru and Japan. We would love Learn about more Wollemi identify the hottest, coldest, wettest to hear more from people in Africa, pine research projects that and driest places Wollemi pines can Asia and the Americas, so our study are currently underway at grow, to gain important insights into can have truly global coverage.” rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/ this tree‘s environmental tolerances. Wollemi-Pine-research In just five months, the survey has SURVEY INSIGHTS Listen to Dr Offord talking received 1204 responses from 30 Most Wollemi pines growing in the about prehistoric species on countries describing Wollemi pines wild have more than one trunk, and the Royal Botanic Garden‘s seen in parks and gardens. This is some produce more than 20 trunks. Branch Out podcast at a great result, considering there are This is called self-coppicing, a unique rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/ fewer than 100 mature Wollemi pines trick that helps the tree survive if its No-Plants-No-Past growing in the wild. other trunks are damaged.

The tree‘s foliage resembles fern fronds

A baby cone

In the wild, Wollemi pines can grow up to 43 metres high Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens

30 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 Visitors observing Wollemi pines at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney

HAVE YOU SEEN A WOLLEMI PINE? Whether you’re an avid gardener with your own tree, a member of staff at a botanic garden that has a Wollemi pine in its collection, or an observant visitor to a park with a specimen, please complete the ‘I Spy A Wollemi Pine’ survey. We would also love you to share this with your friends, especially if you have friends somewhere in Asia, Africa or the Americas. You can access the survey at surveymonkey.com/r/wollemi Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust Photos: © Royal Botanic Gardens

THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 31 THE BLUE MOUNTAINS BOTANIC GARDEN MOUNT TOMAH bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au

Fire tore through this part of the conservation area (see opposite)

RISING FROM THE ASHES

AS THE BLUE MOUNTAINS BOTANIC GARDEN BEGINS ITS RECOVERY FROM BUSHFIRE, THE TEAM’S ASSESSMENTS OF THE SITUATION ARE PROVIDING VALUABLE INSIGHTS INTO THE IMPACT OF FIRE ON BOTANICAL COLLECTIONS

he bushfires that ravaged the qualified horticulturists, arborists and The team has meticulous records on east coast last summer seem scientists on standby to help. every plant in the collection, not just for Tlike a distant memory for many, The Garden is, first and foremost, posterity, but also for scientific research yet for the team at the Blue Mountains a horticultural and scientific institution, and to improve the global knowledge Botanic Garden, reminders surround which makes our endeavour to recover base for each species in our care. Our us as we work to restore this beautiful the natural landscapes and ornamental conservation area is an essential piece space to its former glory. gardens a bit different from many other of high-quality wilderness that can be As soon as all the fires had been organisations impacted by bushfires. studied to a level not possible in the extinguished and the basalt rocks had We manage and care for a vast Living protected national parks. cooled among the ash, we were busy Collection of rare plants from around planning the recovery effort. We the world, as well as 250ha of World ESSENTIAL RESEARCH needed to assess trees, make areas Heritage wilderness in the conservation With 90 per cent of the conservation safe, and repair or replace essential area surrounding the main Garden. area burnt, and thousands of Living infrastructure. The staff were also Collection specimens directly impacted needing support, and stories from by the fire, we needed to embark on the community needed to be heard. “We have been research to better understand exactly Our neighbours in Mount Tomah, what happened and how the plants some of whom lost their properties, inundated with offers would respond. While there was an were also busy with their own journey abundance of academic research, of recovery. We had a team of highly of plant material” and methods for assessing bushfire

32 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020 impacts on natural vegetation, there was almost nothing relating to impacts of bushfire on botanical collections. We treated the assessments of the Living Collection and the natural bush very differently, and our plan was to assess the conservation area first, so we could then refine our methods for evaluating the collection. Firstly, we needed to determine the varying intensities of the fire in different areas so we could assess the impacts those fire types had on individual species and the array of ecological plant communities found across the estate. Whether the fire had The conservation area alight been an intensely hot canopy fire or a cooler trickle burn is the single most significant factor affecting individual species and ecological recovery. Luckily, we have a wide network of experts to call upon. Our involvement in the Wollemi Pine Recovery Plan enabled our horticulturists to begin discussions with the team of scientists tasked with assessing wild populations of the ancient trees straightaway. The first phase of assessing the impacts on the natural areas is now complete, and we have established monitoring plots across the estate in each ecological community to observe individual species recovery and the Force of nature Burnt pedestrian bridge changes in plant diversity. Soon we will have an extremely valuable dataset to analyse, and to inform our final report. We are three-quarters of the way through assessing every single plant in the Living Collection that was burnt or scorched. We don’t yet know the total number of losses, but have recorded interesting observations on several North American tree species that we didn’t know could re-sprout after fire.

GLOBAL SUPPORT While it is heartbreaking to lose any plant in the collection, there is a silver lining. As we confirm what has been lost, we have been inundated with offers of plant material from around the globe. Curator Manager Greg Bourke is in discussions with Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI) to coordinate replacing the losses and strengthening our Living Collection. We will update you on the Garden’s progress in future editions. Ian Allan, Supervisor Ornamental Gardens Trees bursting with life

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34 THE GARDENS WINTER 2020