Blog
Plant your history
A harvest of melons and pumpkins
Learn how to care for your cucurbits with horticulturist Anita Rayner, read about the great watermelon heist of 1811 and discover some forgotten heirloom varieties
Plant your history
A mossy analogy for Susannah Place: small but mighty
Mosses are everywhere! They are small, mighty, unsung and inhabit the most unusual places. They can be found in all our museum outdoor spaces if one looks closely enough
Plant your history
A new weapon in the war on weeds
A black and yellow sign warns me there is “Spraying in Progress”, and I wonder for a moment why no one is wearing a mask, or even gloves. But the dangerous looking mist enveloping these men is not what it seems
Plant your history
Acanthus - an apt symbol for The Mint
Look at any classical building today, anywhere in the world and chances are you will find an acanthus leaf lurking somewhere
Plant your history
Aloe arborescens ‘candelabra aloe’
Tours at Elizabeth Farm often start alongside a large bed of succulents, dominated by towering cactus
Plant your history
An accidental fernery at Susannah Place
Deep in the basement of one of the terraces at Susannah Place in The Rocks grows a small patch of vibrant green native Maiden Hair Fern
Plant your history
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia arborea) at Vaucluse House
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia arborea) is a beautiful perennial shrub native to South America. It was introduced to the colony from Rio de Janeiro for its attractive trumpet flowers
Plant your history
Arthur Phillip’s gardener
Much has been written about our first Governor, Captain Arthur Phillip. A lot less is known about the other members of his household, which included his own personal French chef and his personal servant, Henry Dodd (1748-1791)
Plant your history
As the seasons turn
As the seasons turn there are those plants we look out for, those changing leaf colours and flowers that punctuate the year and remind us that time is rolling on