Australian National Botanic Gardens

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Coming soon - a new Australian Daisy Garden

A winter wander along the Gardens' Main Path may leave you wondering what is happening in the large construction area below the Rock Garden Lawn.

The centre of the Gardens is currently the construction site for an exciting new display featuring Australian daisies - set to open this spring.

The site will display the incredible diversity of Australia's daisies - the diversity of form, colour and flowering time - as an inspriation for how people may use and grow them in their own gardens.

Renowned for their massed displays, blooming as carpets in both arid zones and alpine herb fields, the many forms of daisies include tiny salt pan ephemerals through to large shrubs and even trees. With around 1,000 species of daisies in Australia, there is much to choose from.

It is the first time in many years that the Gardens are developing a new display based solely on a taxonomic grouping rather than a geographic or ecological grouping like the Red Centre or Grassy Woodland Gardens. It is hoped that the daisy collection will flourish with flowering displays all year round.

Watch as the Daisy Garden develops - and look for the new wave of colour along the Main Path this spring when the display is officially opened.

Sharing is human nature

What do you get when a bunch of Canberra loving, experience seeking and social media savvy locals visit the Gardens at night? The answer is two dozen impressed people who share their experiences with thousands of others - creating part two of the award winning Human Brochure campaign .

Bloggers and tweeters shared comments like “so very lucky to have both a rainforest and a desert in our city” or “had a blooming good night being tree-ted to the Australian National Botanic Gardens afterDARK tour,” following the Gardens’ Human Brochure Discovery event – an event that gave selected individuals a taste of what’s on offer to locals and visitors in the nation’s capital.

With the Friends of the Gardens volunteer guides leading the way, the Gardens’ Human Brochure Discover event took the humans on an afterDARK postcard tour of the Gardens - starting with the Rainforest Gully, then along the lantern lit pathways of the Rock Garden and concluding with a special bush food platter service in the Red Centre Garden.

A VisitCanberra tourism initiative, the Human Brochure is the world’s first living, breathing travel brochure created by real humans.

The first chapter of the Human Brochure happened in 2012, inviting 500 interstate humans from all around Australia to come and experience Canberra and share all the great things they got up to.

Following the success of the first chapter, VisitCanberra launched chapter 2 of the Human Brochure and selected 101 Local Humans to explore what’s on offer right in their own backyard.

For further information about the Human Brochure and to follow the stories of the 101 Local Humans, visit http://humanbrochure.com.au/

Image courtesy of Wanderlust73

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A garden of inspiration for artists

For Melbourne sculptor Annee Miron and Canberra textile artist Sally Blake, the Gardens became a place of artistic inspiration as they completed their research phase of Craft ACT’s Artist-in-Residence program.

In a program designed to connect artists with the environment, Annee and Sally spent two weeks in the Gardens exploring and working with National Seed Bank staff, researching and artistically interpreting the environmental protection of bogs and fens – the theme for this year’s CraftACT’s Artist-in-Residence program.

Prior to their time in the Gardens, Annee spent four weeks in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Sally spent a similar period in Namadgi National Park immersing themselves in the respective environs.

Annee and Sally will spend the next 12 months developing their craft works for display at CraftACT Gallery in April and May 2015.

An exhibition showing the processes used to develop their final craft works will also be on display at the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

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Garden Guidance: hot tip of the season

If you’re looking for advice on caring for your garden through the winter, Gardens’ Horticultural Manager Phil Hurle may have just the tip for you.

Having worked at the Gardens for 25 years, Phil knows a thing or two about gardens. His extensive experience curating and caring for the Gardens’ Rock Garden displays and his love for the outdoors and horticulture have earnt him his reputation as one of the Gardens’ respected experts.

Phil says that winter is the ideal time to rebuild or tidy up garden beds. Start clearing out dead material and cutting back natives like the kangaroo paw – it’s also a good time to get on top of any weeding issues that got away from you during summer and autumn.

If you’re keen on using a fertiliser this winter, Phil recommends that any fertilising should be done using a high potassium fertiliser. This will strengthen plant cells to help battle the cold weather and to assist in spring flower development.

Floresco head chef wins award

Floresco in the Gardens’ head chef, David Lockwood, was named the Young Achiever of the Year for his ability, passion and dedication in the 2014 ClubsACT awards for excellence.

David became head chef at Floresco in the Gardens in August 2012 where he is responsible for running the kitchen operation for all catering at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. He has enjoyed the challenge of working with native Australian ingredients and applying them to elements of the Floresco menu. David mentions that working in the Gardens has helped broaden his cooking knowledge and the beautiful surroundings are somewhat calming and inspiring to work in.

David commenced his career in 2006 as part of an accelerated Apprentice Chef Pilot Program. David’s acceptance to this program was an achievement in itself as this was the first such program of its kind in Australia. David has always been extremely enthusiastic in his approach to his chosen career path and completed his apprenticeship in 2008.

David joined the Hellenic Club as a casual chef at Woden in April 2011, working in food preparation and production in conferencing, functions and events. In recognition of his outstanding efforts as a chef, David was promoted to the position of Senior Chef de Partie in May 2012. His experiece represents an outstanding effort given David’s age and his relatively short career.

David is currently working on a new menu which he looks forward to sharing soon with visitors and the Friends of the Gardens.