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MOUNT ANNAN - May 2025
The Gardening Group car-pooled on 28th May 25 and 15 of us set off for a long trip to the Mount Annan Botanical Garden which is on the western edge of Sydney between Campbelltown and Camden. Many thanks to our drivers for their effort to get us all there in time for coffee.
Mount Annan is the largest Botanical Garden in Australia and was established in 1988 from farmland and Cumberland Woodland. It specializes in Australian native plants. It is on 416 hectares and is one of the horticultural scientific hubs of Australia.
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Arriving just before 10am, first it was coffee in the cafe then we met our guide, Virginia. After first giving us a potted history of Mt Annan she took us on a tour of the Plant Bank.
The little Banksia is in the Master beds in the propagation area.. the Master beds provide cuttings and seeds for the volunteers to turn into new plants
The Seedbank was first established in 1986. The newer Plantbank has both conservation and research responsibilities and was opened in 2013. It includes the Wollemi Pine project to preserve this ancient plant. Scientists at the PlantBank seek to answer vital questions
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How do plants grow and evolve?
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What new uses for Australian native plants are yet to be discovered?
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How can we use plants more sustainably in horticulture and agriculture?
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With so many ecosystems under threat, how can we best act to conserve plant diversity?
We then moved to the Herbarium which has over a million essential historical and scientific worldwide specimens.
After lunch we met with John Fitzgerald who had made the trip out from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Sydney to show us over the Propagation areas. We examined the master beds, saw the propagating areas and the hothouses and sheds for the more advanced plants. This area is generally closed to the public and we were very privileged to be allowed in and shown around.
Just after 2pm we set off back to Sydney. The weather was beautiful and sunny and we thoroughly enjoyed our day at Australia’s hot climate Botanical Garden, Mt Annan.
