Celebrating Autumn in Perth with a new workshop series

Amanda Shade, Collections and Development manager, Kings Park and Botanic Garden

At Kings Park and Botanic Garden in Perth we have a long history of developing horticulturally and botanically themed workshops and related activities in September to coincide with our spring festival. Traditionally, this is the best time of year to showcase the incredibly diverse Western Australian flora, and when we usually see an influx of tourists to the state and the botanic garden – at Amanda Shade. least in pre‑COVID times! We realised, however, that autumn was Credit: C. Sprogoe perhaps an equally important time of year to be developing a program of events. Autumn in Perth – or Djeran in local south‑west Noongar culture – generally signals a welcome relief to the end of summer, with many people redirecting their gardening focus from ‘survival’ mode to more considered enjoyment and involvement in their gardens. This year Perth sweltered through its hottest summer on record, and autumn was eagerly anticipated by many people. We decided to celebrate the end of this challenging summer by developing a new and exciting autumn series of events. These included workshops, guided walks and other activities designed to celebrate the botanic garden, promote Western Australian native flora, and encourage people to connect with their gardens and green spaces. We deliberately selected two botanically significant days to bookend the series, with the launch on National Eucalypt Day (23 March) and the series culminating on Botanic Gardens Day (29 May). Events on National Eucalypt Day included specially curated walks showcasing lesser‑known small eucalypts suitable for use in managed landscapes, followed by a special presentation by renowned ‘eucalyptologist’ Malcolm French. Malcolm was awarded the 2022 Dahl Medal by Eucalypt Australia

Kings Park Arboriculture Curator Chelsea Payne describes the ornamental features of the threatened Rose Mallee Eucalyptus rhodantha on National Eucalypt Day. Credit: David Blumer

during his very popular talk (see ‘National Eucalypt Day and the Eucalypt of the Year’ in this issue for more details). Feedback from industry was very positive for this initiative, with one long‑term industry professional commenting, ‘Just wanted to say how great this walk, and talk, was yesterday. The Kings Park team did a brilliant job and there is a strong future in collaborating with industry to get more suitable native plants into the landscape. I feel bad that after this length of time in the industry my knowledge is clearly lacking on some of these great species.’

That evening we also switched on the uplights under our famous Corymbia citriodora‑lined Fraser Avenue to shine green in celebration of this day.

The avenue of Lemon Scented Gums Corymbia citriodora overlooking Perth city and the Swan River turned green in celebration of National Eucalypt Day. Credit: David Blumer

Various workshops were developed with a focus on promoting our flora and providing people with inspiration around how to prepare their gardens for winter planting. We concentrated on how to select climate‑ resilient local flora and looked at alternative ways of growing plants in different conditions. These workshops were targeted at both the home gardener and industry professionals, and included topics such as

Container gardening using Western Australian natives was a popular workshop for people with small backyards. Credit: David Blumer

container gardening with natives, designing native gardens for shaded areas and ‘micro‑gardens’ in plant bowls. Horticultural techniques were also covered, with specialist pruning workshops run by our skilled arboriculture team, and our equally talented nursery team delivering propagation and grafting workshops. These types of workshops are always popular as they facilitate the learning of new skills while also allowing a sneak‑peek into the behind‑the‑scenes operations of what is involved in managing a botanic garden.

To celebrate the Mother’s Day weekend, we held a flower arranging workshop using Western Australian natives. We encouraged people to come along with their mothers to enjoy an afternoon of learning about ‘floristry friendly’ species to plant in their gardens. Participants then created their own amazing arrangements and ended the workshop with a special afternoon tea.

We recognise that people often have very different reasons for wanting certain plants in their gardens. Plants that are suitable for floristry and flower arranging appear to be an increasingly popular choice.

More specially curated walks were offered during this series, including taxonomic walks on Botanic Gardens Day. These explored and explained some of the diverse names of highlighted Western Australian flora and provided an opportunity to promote the importance of botanic gardens, the work they contribute, and the role they play in our lives.

In celebration of Botanic Gardens Day we also developed a video around the theme of ‘A Day in the Life of a Botanic Garden’. This was created for use on our website and social media channels and released in early May. This short video stars many Kings Park staff members from all our various horticulture and conservation teams showing the kind of work they undertake in their different roles – and how they all work together to manage a successful and inspiring botanic garden.

Overall, the autumn workshop series proved to be a popular undertaking, with good uptake and support by the public, industry members, staff and volunteers. These kinds of activities also provide an invaluable opportunity for our team members to become involved with and often help them develop confidence in their public speaking and presenting skills. We have already identified many opportunities to develop these programs further into the future, utilising different technologies to reach a greater audience with our botanic garden message, and to develop closer links with industry to broaden Western Australian flora knowledge and encourage its use and appreciation.

The diversity of bold colours and shapes of many Western Australian natives make them perfect for flower arranging. Credit: Amanda Shade

Taxonomic walks featured many interesting species and explanations behind their naming. This Eneabba Mallee Eucalyptus × impensa is a naturally occurring hybrid, with impensa deriving from the Latin for large or strong, in reference to the leaves and fruit. Credit: David Blumer