| Adelaide Botanic Garden | |
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The garden's 1877 tropical palm house |
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| Type | Botanical |
| Location | Adelaide, South Australia |
| Size | 125-acre (51 ha) |
| Opened | 1857 |
| Website | botanicgardens.sa.gov.au |
The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a 125-acre (51 ha) public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace (between the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the National Wine Centre) and behind it the Botanic Park (adjacent to the Adelaide Zoo). Adelaide Botanic Garden is one of three gardens that comprise the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.
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First set aside in Colonel William Light's city plan for Adelaide in 1838, it wasn't until 1854, after a public appeal to Governor Sir Henry Young that gardens were established at the current location. They were founded the following year and officially opened in 1857. The garden's design was influenced by the Royal Gardens at Kew, England and Versailles, France.
One of the garden's nineteenth-century directors was the botanist Dr Richard Moritz Schomburgk, brother to the German naturalist Robert Hermann Schomburgk. He was a major advocate for the establishment of forest reserves in the increasingly denuded South Australian countryside.[1] Dr Schomburgk's successor, Dr M. W. Holtze I.S.O., did much to make the gardens more attractive to the general public.[2]
Amongst other scientific and educational displays of native and international horticulture, the gardens hold one of the world's only propagated Wollemi Pine trees.
The Palm, or tropical, house is a Victorian glasshouse located to the west of the main lake. It was imported from Bremen, Germany in 1875 , opened in 1877 and restored in 1995. As of 2007 it held a collection of Malagasy arid flora.
Begun in 1996, the National Rose Trial Garden is the first garden of its kind in Australia where roses are tested for their suitability for Australian climates. The Garden is a joint venture between the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide, the National Rose Trial Society of Australia and the rose industry. It has been built on part of the former Municipal Tramways Trust Hackney Depot. Roses are planted in groups such as, Noisette Roses, Bourbon Roses, Tea Roses, Ramblers, and Perpetual Roses. A trial is conducted over two growing seasons and all plants are treated equally with regard to horticultural practices. The roses are judged by a panel of 10 experienced rosarians who view them and allocate points over the two growing seasons. The results are announced publicly at the end of the trial and the best performing roses receive an award.
While in Adelaide in 2004, Sir Cliff Richard planted a rose named ‘Sir Cliff Richard’ in the Rose Garden surrounded by a small group of fans and rose enthusiasts. Sales of the rose support the Bone Growth Foundation.
As part of Adelaide's celebration of the Australian Bicentenary the conservatory was constructed in 1987 and opened in late 1989. The building was designed by local architect Guy Maron and has won awards for its design, engineering and landscaping. It is 100 metres (328 ft) long, 47 metres (154 ft) wide and 27 metres (89 ft) high making it the largest single span conservatory in the southern hemisphere. The conservatory houses at risk or endangered tropical rainforest plants from northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and south Pacific Islands.[3] The conservatory is often referred to as "The Pasty" (or "The Crystal Pasty") by locals, because of its resemblance to a massive semicircular stuffed pastry.
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