Contents
Crystal Palaces: Exhibitions and their legacies Stuart Read
The 1851 exhibition in London’s Crystal Palace kicked off a wave of exhibitions around the world. In 1879, Sydney’s Domain hosted Australia’s first international exhibition in the custom-built Garden Palace.
The Nurseries of St George: Sydney’s flourishing plant trade from the 1850s Claire Baddeley
By the mid-19th century, the Victorian enthusiasm for flowers, plants and gardens was widespread across all levels of society. In Sydney, the nursery and seed trade developed rapidly. Unlike today, many nurseries in greater Sydney grew most of their stock on site on the urban fringes of the city. To the southeast of Sydney, in the bayside area incorporating Botany and Rockdale, along with Hurstville in the St George region, numerous large- and small-scale nurseries were established from the 1850s onwards.
Patterdale, Tasmania: The making of an artist’s garden Catherine Shields
How is it possible to recreate a well-known historic garden when no traces of the original exist? This question was posed to the author by Carol Westmore of Nile Farm, Deddington, Tasmania, in early 2019. The garden discussed was once owned by one of Australia’s most proficient and prolific colonial artists: John Glover.
Quaker Mason and the weeping pagoda tree plate: Commemorating a great New Zealand gardener Clare Gleeson
A plate fired by the English pottery Masons Ironware celebrates one of the most important figures in New Zealand’s horticultural history, Thomas ‘Quaker’ Mason. The plate features the Mandalay pattern surrounding an image of a weeping pagoda tree. Today, the weeping pagoda and several other trees remain as tantalising reminders of this wonderful garden.
Armidale’s Booloominbah gardens: A history in photographs Bill Oates
Booloominbah, a Federation Arts and Crafts style mansion, dominates the northwest edge of Armidale, NSW. The extensive gardens and European idyll of a rolling deer park were appreciated by generations.
Lavender: A remarkable herb Dot Evans
Lavender is a versatile plant. It can be grown as an ornamental plant, harvested for its aromatic oils, used in medicine, hung as an insect repellent, enjoyed for its perfume, and employed in cooking. Wonderful claims have been made for its properties ranging from its ability to calm mad dogs or to attract a lover.
For the bookshelf: Of Friends & Gardens, A history of the Cranbourne Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria by Carolyn Landon Reviewer Francesca Beddie
This history commemorates 30 years of the Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne. the pages give a sense of the evolution of Gardens. What shines through is the strong camaraderie of this Friends group built on the shared love of, sometimes obsession for, the Australian bush.
For the bookshelf: The Robert Brown Handbook, a guide to the life and work of Robert Brown (1773-1858), Scottish botanist by David J Mabberley and David T Moore, with the assistance of Jacek Wajer Reviewer David Bedford
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Robert Brown (1773–1858) was considered the greatest botanist of his time. Yet today he and his ground-breaking work are little appreciated. This book goes a long way to correcting that situation.
Advocacy: Gardens and landscapes of the Southern Highlands then and now Bud Townsing and Ruth Bailey
The cool climate of the Southern Highlands of NSW has inspired successive generations of garden lovers to create the splendid gardens and landscapes that give the region such a distinctive character. A joint exhibition by the Berrima District Historical and Family History Society and the AGHS – Southern Highlands Branch serves to remind us of the importance of landscape and garden heritage and the need for its protection.
Profile: Helen Oates
Meet Helen Oates, Chair AGHS NNSW Branch and NMC member.
AGHS national oral history collection: Kingsley Dixon
Botanist Kingsley Dixon spoke to Patsy Vizents in 2022 about the Wyemando Native Plant Nursery.