Episode: Nine
Date: 3rd May 2008
Presenter: Neville Passmore
Story Title: Royal Botanical Gardens Melbourne – Perennial Borders

The Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne has some great alternate cottage plant examples such as those in the perennial border garden. Commonly used in English garden style designs, perennials work tremendously well in Australian gardens as we have a much warmer climate. This means you can have six to eight months of blooming colour and many of them do it during winter using the winter rains saving precious water.

History of the Gardens

The Royal Botanic Gardens was established in 1846, after Lieutenant Governor Charles La Trobe selected the site on the southern bank of the Yarra River. At the time of its foundation, the Gardens’ site was an uninspiring mixture of rocky outcrops and swampy marshland, but it was not long before the foundations were being laid for one of the great gardens of the world.

In 1857, the Gardens’ first full time Director Ferdinand von Mueller was appointed. Mueller was to become one of the most acclaimed botanists of the 19th century, and was ultimately awarded Knighthoods by over 20 countries. Mueller was the first person to hold the position of Government Botanist, and established the Gardens’ scientific centre, The National Herbarium of Victoria, where he amassed an extraordinary range of plants from every corner of the world.

In 1873 Mueller was succeeded by William Guilfoyle, who set about creating the Gardens’ world-famous "picturesque" landscape style. Guilfoyle sculpted sweeping lawns, meandering paths and glittering lakes, creating a series of vistas offering in his words  “a surprise around every corner”. Guilfoyle was aided in his work by Melbourne’s mild climate, which allows an exotic mix of tropical and temperate plants to be grown, as well as the outstanding collection of plants already established by Mueller.

Today, the Gardens are home to more than 51,000 individual plants, representing over 12,000 different species, and have become a natural sanctuary for native wild life including black swans, bell miners, cockatoos and kookaburras, which fill the air with their distinctive song.The Gardens are owned by the people of Victoria and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens Board.

Perennial Border Garden
A garden of contrasting colour, texture and form. In this garden, large drifts of perennials are interspersed with sculptural, ornamental plants. Notice how the variation in colour, texture and form of the flowers and foliage create contrast within the garden.  The Perennial Border has been designed to present a very long-lasting period of display, unlike traditional herbaceous or perennial borders in European countries.  This border is visually stimulating from October through May each year, and is even worth a visit in the dead of winter to see the dried seed pods before they are cut back for the spring flush of growth.

Featured Plants
Dyckia (Dyckia spp.)

1. Linear to lance-shaped or short triangular, spiny margined, stiff, often grey-scaly leaves, tubular, sulphur-yellow to orange flowers
2. Frost Tender

Tick Flower (Coreopsis spp.)

1. Grows to approximately 60cm in height and 30cm in width
2. Evergreen
3. Golden yellow flowers
4. Flowering is in spring/early summer and they thrive in poor soils

Chinese Rice Paper Plant (Tetrapanax papyrifera)

1. A shrub that grows to approximately 6m in height and 4.5m in width
2. It has lobed, pleated leaves and cream flowers
3. Flowers in autumn

Variegated Miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis ‘Variegatus’)

1. Tall growing grasses that can reach over 3.5m in height
2. There are 17-20 species, usually neat clump forming with upright, reed like stems and narrow arching leaves
3. The flowerheads are produced in late summer and autumn with fluffy plumes at the top
4. Moderately frost hardy, prefers full sun, moist, fertile and well drained soils

Mound-lily Yucca (Yucca gloriosa)

1. An evergreen shrub that grows 2.4m in height and width
2. Flowers come in white, tinged flesh pink with broad sword-like leaves
3. Flowering time is during summer and autumn

Cherry Pie (Heliotropium arborescens ‘Lord Roberts’)

1. A evergreen perennial that grows to 75cm in height and 1m in width
2. Fragrant flowers that are purple to lavender in colour with strongly veined foliage
3. Flowers in late spring and autumn

 
Autumn Joy (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’)

1. Succulent that grows to approximately 45cm in height and width
2. Flowers can range from pale to deep rose pink with pale grey-green foliage
3. Flowers in later summer
4. Used in gardens like a herbaceous perennial

Royal Botanical Gardens Melbourne
Birdwood Avenue,  
South Yarra, VIC Australia, 3141 
Ph: 03 9252 2300
Fax: 03 9252 2442
Website: www.rbg.vic.gov.au

Opening Hours

Open every day of the year

7.30am to 8.30pm November to March
7.30am to 6.00pm April, September and October
7.30am to 5.30pm May to August
Please Note:
Tropical Display – Glasshouse is open daily: 10am - 4pm.

The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden

Open:
10am - 4pm, Wednesday to Sunday
10am - 4pm, seven days per week during Victorian State School holidays

Closed:
Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday
For two months at the start of third term (Victorian State Schools)
The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden needs time for rest and maintenance. It is closed for two months at the end of the Victorian July School Holidays. This year the Children's Garden will close on 14 July 2008 and reopen at 10am, 10 September 2008

SPECIAL NOTICE:
School Holiday opening - The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden is open from 10am to 4pm seven days a week during the Victorian School Holidays. Current holiday: open 22 March - 6 April 2008 (closed Good Friday).