Rosa ‘General Changarnier’

Paul classified it as a Hybrid China rose.  Its flowers are large and full, a purplish-red colour.  [Paul (1848, 1863)].

Added on February 12 2010

Salpiglossis sinuata Ruiz & Pav.

Half hardy, erect annual with slender, branching stems bearing alternate, long-stalked, lance-shaped, wavy-margined leaves and broadly funnel-shaped, 5-lobed flowers in a wide variety of colours, heavily veined in a deeper or contrasting colour, from summer to autumn.  To 60cm.  [RHSE, Hortus].

Added on October 10 2009

Dendrobium nobile Lindl.

Frost-tender, semi-evergreen epiphytic orchid with cylindrical pseudobulbs and lance-shaped leaves, to 12cm long, and usually pairs of flowers varying in colour from largely white, to pinkish purple, with a maroon mark on each lip, in spring.  There are many named colour forms.  [RHSE, Pridgeon, Hortus, Jennings].

Added on January 25 2010

Allamanada species unidentified [1]

Unidentified Allamanda species.

Added on January 15 2009

Achillea species unidentified

Unidentified species, but perhaps Achillea sibirica Ledeb. subsp. mongolica (Fisch. ex Spreng.) Heimerl, which see.  This first appeared in the 1850 cataologue.

Added on September 09 2009

Gladiolus caryophyllaceus (Burm.f.) Poir. var. roseus

A cormous perennial with sword-shaped leaves and widely-funnel-shaped deep pink to mauve flowers and it is possible that Gladiolus roseus of the catalogues is a pink-flowered form.  To 110cm.  [CECB]. 

Added on October 26 2009

Crinum lineare L.f.

Bulbous perennial with leaves to 60cm long, and flower stems to 30cm long, bearing umbels of up to 6, fragrant, funnel-shaped, white flowers, to 6cm long, tinged red in the centre.  [RHSD, Baker Am., Verdoorn].  

Added on April 27 2009

Improvements to Hortus Camdenensis

The Hortus software has been upgraded. This led to some minor errors in the layout of plant names, particularly in the headings of Plant Profile pages but these have now been largely overcome. Improvements are also progressively being made to the content of the Hortus in three main areas, botanical and horticultural history, cross referencing and illustrations. Some enhancements will be done as the opportunity arises but most will be completed family by family. This will take at least two years to complete.

Published Sep 14, 2010 - 04:06 PM | Last updated Aug 12, 2012 - 04:36 PM

Sir William Macarthur on Vines and Vineyards

Sir William Macarthur wrote extensively on vines and Vineyards. It is our intention to publish all his writings in the Hortus.

Published Aug 01, 2010 - 04:58 PM | Last updated Oct 04, 2010 - 04:47 PM

Working Bee dates

Working Bee dates for 2012.

Published Jun 29, 2010 - 02:59 PM | Last updated Jan 10, 2012 - 05:19 PM

Open House and Gardens

Camden Park House and Gardens will be open to the public on Saturday 22nd September, 2012, from 12.00 noon until 4.00 pm, and Sunday 23rd from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm.

Published Dec 30, 2009 - 02:58 PM | Last updated Jan 09, 2012 - 05:31 PM

History of the Florists’ Gloxinia

In the 19th century the florists’ Gloxinia was a very popular plant with hundreds of varieties under propagation.  Out of fashion today, these beautiful and easily grown plants deserve to be revived.  William Macarthur would not have recognised the large, multi-coloured flowers that dominate the show bench today but the plants he grew, predominantly of the slipper, or wild type, were equally beautiful.

Published Mar 14, 2010 - 01:56 PM | Last updated Jul 26, 2011 - 04:59 PM

Memorandum from the Antipodes: Colouring of Grapes

The following Memorandum was submitted to The Gardeners’ Chronicle by William Macarthur in 1854. Although written in response to a particular problem aired in the columns of the newspaper some months earlier, it adds considerably to our understanding of commercial wine production at Camden Park, in particular the preferred grapes and the style of wine best suited to the colonial conditions. We are also given insights into the problems caused by ‘sudden abstraction of labour attending our gold crisis’, which caused considerable disruption of agrarian and other commercial activities in Australia for some years.

Published Jun 30, 2011 - 04:42 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2011 - 11:12 AM

Letters on the Culture of the Vine Part 4: Forming the Vineyard and Planting Vines

Letters on the Culture of the Vine and Manufacture of Wine by Maro, pen-name of William Macarthur. Letters V and VI deal with the formation of the vineyard and planting the vines. The illustration used here is Macarthur’s Plate 1, a ground plan for a vineyard. This is probably based on his own third vineyard, commenced c.1830.

The entire book is reproduced in the Hortus in ten parts. For background information and Macarthur’s Introduction to the book see Part 1.

Published Sep 05, 2010 - 05:03 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2011 - 11:15 AM

Vineyards at Camden

The vineyards of Camden Park are widely considered to be the first commercial vineyards in Australia. James and William Macarthur were certainly not the first to sell wine for profit or the first to export wine but were pioneers in the development of vineyards intended to produce a profit from the sale of quality wine. Prior to this wine was produced from small vineyards planted primarily for home consumption, with excess sold and sometimes exported.

The first vineyard was small, only one acre in extent, and largely experimental, but the second and third were on a much grander scale. As the closing words of this pamphlet demonstrate, James and William certainly had a vision of what was possible for Australian wine production, as they had previously for fine Merino wool.

‘Whether these Colonies can also hope to provide for the benefit of every class here at home, and at an equally moderate rate another exportable product, remains yet to be seen — so that even the tired artizan, in his hours of relaxation from toil, may not unseldom exclaim, “Go Fetch me a quart of (Australian) Sack.” ’

Published Aug 25, 2010 - 05:34 PM | Last updated Aug 25, 2010 - 05:51 PM