Mount Annan Botanic Garden

Banksia ornata, next to Gardens entrance

Wollemi Pine protected by a steel cage

Mount Annan Botanic Garden is a 416 hectare botanical garden in a hilly area of the southwestern Sydney suburb of Mount Annan, between Campbelltown and Camden, Australia. The Garden opened to the public in 1988, specializing in native plants, with a collection of over 4000 species. It is the largest botanical garden in Australia. After the discovery, on or about 10 September 1994, the Wollemi Pine was first cultivated there in 1995.^[1] Prior to them becoming commercially available the trees were so valuable that they were grown inside steel cages to protect them from thieves. The Garden is managed by the Botanic Gardens Trust (Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney), a division of the New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change.

The 416 hectares of Garden consists of Australian Bushland with cultivated displays and was opened in 1988 by the then Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. It features themed gardens including "Big Idea Garden", "Wattle Garden" and "Banksia Garden" as well as the "Woodland Picnic Area" which highlights the endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland found within the estate. It is also a haven for over 160 species of birds as well as wallaroos, wallabies and kangaroos that call the Garden home. With the rapid growth occurring in the Macarthur region it is fast becoming a wildlife corridor for our local native fauna.

The Garden is the Australian Plant Garden of the Botanic Gardens Trust and includes not only picnic areas and over 20 km of walking tracks, but also a native flora research facility and the NSW Seedbank.

Mount Annan Botanic Garden covers a vast area and is accessible by two loop roads that traverse the site, however visitors will miss the beauty of the location if they do not stop throughout and walk around the different garden locations. From the top of Sundial Hill visitors have spectacular 360° views of the surrounding countryside including views of the Sydney skyline.

Over the past four years, the Garden has undergone intense development with major changes to what was once the Terrace Garden that has been renamed to the Connections Garden, which is now indeed the showcase of the estate.

The "Seedbank" was established in 1986 as an integral part of Mount Annan Botanic Garden. Its initial role was to provide wild collected seed for the development of this new Garden, particularly the Garden’s major collections of wattles, eucalypts and plants in the Proteaceae family. The NSW Seedbank continues to support the ongoing development of Mount Annan Botanic Garden, but today the Seedbank also plays a major role internationally in conservation and research.

This conservation and research now also includes the endangered Wollemi Pine that was discovered in 1994 in the Wollemi National Park which is part of the Greater Blue Mountains area, 200km north-west of Sydney. The discovery of the Wollemi Pine is considered to be one of the major botanical finds in recent history; it was previously thought to be extinct with only fossil records remaining. [[File:]]

As part of the Conservation Management Plan for the pine, Mount Annan Botanic Garden is now home to the only publicly accessible collection of first generation pines (clonal replicas), in the Wollemi Walk of Discovery. The Walk was opened in March 2006 and is currently home to 60 of these Wollemi Pines. There are now another 140 to plant out and the Garden are currently looking for sponsors of these trees.

Also being developed on site is the Macarthur Centre for Sustainable Living, which is nearing the end of construction and has already started educating the local community on organic gardening. The Centre will be home to a large community garden for those wishing to grow their own vegetables and other plants, but who have no space in their own backyard. The aim of the Centre is to promote sustainability, social equity, cultural diversity and economic stability. The site will include interactive displays of alternative energy production and use, waste water recycling, water and energy efficiency, waste avoidance and management. The facility will demonstrate how sustainability can be achieved at the individual household, community and regional levels.

References and notes

1. ^ Dept of Environment and Climate Change, New south Wales official site, Botanic Gardens Trust.

General Garden Media Release, by Rebecca Moutia, Manager Marketing and Events, Mount Annan Botanic Garden, 5 Dec 2008

External links

• Official Mount Annan Botanic Garden Website
• Official Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney

Coordinates: 34°04′13″S 150°46′00″E / 34.0703°S 150.7668°E / -34.0703; 150.7668