The hort. section The hort. section looks at the conservation journey Ballarat Botanical Gardens (BBG) has been on. Famed for its begonias, Donna Thomas tells us about how BBG is now embracing indigenous plants. And from Eleni Vassiliadis, we learn about some of the grand old trees at RBGV Melbourne Gardens and the efforts that arborists go to to protect their unique values.
Regional botanical gardens can join the conservation conversation too Donna Thomas, Gardens Collections Officer, Ballarat Botanical Gardens As a heritage-listed, primarily exotic, and regional botanic garden, Ballarat Botanical Gardens (BBG) did not have Australian plant conservation on the radar. We had believed those plant conservation projects required the expertise of large state botanic gardens with scientists and seedbanks, not regional botanic gardens like ours – or so we thought. In just two years, plant conservation has become one of our gardens’ first conversations through better understanding of our existing collections and implementing simple, low cost and small‑scale projects. We now thrive in talking about Australian plant conservation with a new Ballarat indigenous plant collection, four indigenous species conservation projects, an endangered grasslands project, and the forthcoming BGANZ Care for the Rare project – all things we would not have thought possible a short time ago. We’re learning so much along the way, from the support gained, new networks found and the immense and unexpected benefits for our team, our gardens, and
Care for the Rare site inspection – Peter Marquand, Chris Russell, John Arnott, Cr Jim Rinaldi
even for a few plants!
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THE BOTANIC GARDENer | ISS 53 SUMMER 2019/20
