What's Looking Good In The Garden
World Heritage Exhibition Centre
'Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations' UNESCO World Heritage website Our exciting and architecturally quirky Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Exhibition Centre is officially open and the rooftop garden offers a stunning vista. All Garden Visitors are welcome to view the exhibition space below, focussing on the botanical aspects of the listing of this special area. From Mount Tomah, which is Dahrug Land, you can look north across part of the Blue Mountains National Park and on into Wollemi National Park and slightly east to Yengo National Park. These parks, and more, form the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area.
Boardwalk - Devil's Wilderness - CBD
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. What better year to celebrate the on-going evolution of eucalypts! At the official opening of the Exhibition Centre, on 24 July, a Eucalyptus copulans was planted by Jack Thompson AO. This species is currently represented in the wild by just one tree. Hon Bob Debus MP planted a Eucalyptus bugessiana. This eucalypt is restricted to the Faulconbridge - Linden area and also Mount Tomah, on sandstone ledges. The name honours the Rev. Colin Burgess, a student of Blue Mountains eucalypts. Both are examples of on-going evolution of eucalypts in this area.
Crocus tommasinianus
Below the Residence Garden the two 'Brunet Oaks' stand either side of the intended driveway to a new residence planned by Alfred and Effie Brunet but never build. This north-facing lawn captures all the warmth the winter sun can provide and right now it hosts in abundance the tiny amythest flowers of Crocus tommasinianus, about which you can read more in its Plant of the Season profile from August 2004 by clicking on the link below and searching for 'crocus'.
A similar search on 'narcissus' or on 'winter bulbs' will take you to past profiles about members of the genus Narcissus that are flowering now. These include Narcissus 'Grand Primo' or 'Avalanche' and the sunshine-coloured 'Grand Soleil d'Or'.
Narcissus 'Erlicheer' is a scented, very early flowering, registered cultivar. Murray Gardiner of Warragul, Victoria is credited as its originator and it was recorded as first flowering in 1934. 'Gaity' and 'Cheerfulness' as synonyms and 'Earlichere' and 'Earlicheer' are common spellings.
Narcissus 'Erlicheer'
All of this bulb-hunting may encourage a visit later in Aug to view the delight that will be our mass display of daffodil cultivars in the Brunet Meadow. Our official Daffodil Day will be 27 August 2010.
Right now the golden trumpet daffodils have just a few heads nodding in the Residence Garden and they look very smart indeed amid bare-branched trees and camellia blossom.
Willy Wombat & the Aussie Animal Adventure is the self-guided Family Activity for this season. 'The Jungle' is now open to all Garden Visitors and its well-formed paths provide a gentle interaction with real Many of these plants have featured as Plant of the Season.