Paphiopedilum barbatum (Lindl.) Pfitzer

Frost tender ground orchid with oblong, light green leaves blotched and spotted with dark green markings, and solitary, whitish ladies’ slipper flowers striped and flushed with purple, in summer.  [RHSD].

Added on January 24 2010

Achimenes hirsuta Lindl.

Today Achimenes skinneri and Achimenes hirsuta are regarded as synonymous but they were usually regarded as separate species in the Victorian literature and for that reason are given separate entries here.  [RHSD]. See Achimenes skinneri Lindl. for the principal entry. It seems probable that Achimenes hirsuta and Achimenes skinneri as grown by Macarthur were noticeably different in appearance.

The Botanical Register describes Achimenes hirsuta as resembling Achimenes pedunculata [Benth.] and, like the latter, it bears bulblets in the axils of its leaves and branches.  [BR f.55/1843].  Its red flowers have a deep rose-coloured border, the lobes notched.  Allen describes Achimenes hirsuta with ‘hairy leaves and rose-coloured flowers with a yellow eye’.

Added on August 26 2009

Ipomoea cairica (L.) Sw.

Frost tender, tuberous-rooted perennial climber with palmate leaves and profuse funnel-shaped flowers in red, purple or white, with purple inside the tube.  To 4.5m.  [RHSD, Hortus, FNSW].

Added on October 04 2009

Gmelina asiatica L.f. var. parvifolia (Roxb.) Moldenke

Frost tender, often spiny shrub with ovate leaves, to 6cm, and slightly pendant terminal racemes of yellow flowers.  To 10m.  [RHSD].

Added on February 15 2010

Protea speciosa L.

Shrub with wavy, ciliate, oblong leaves to 12cm long, and ovoid, reddish flower heads, to 12cm long.  To 1.8m.  [RHSD].

Added on April 01 2010

Hippeastrum striatum (Lam.) H.E.Moore

A variable species with many recognised varieties.  Stout stems bear an umbel of up to 4, funnel-shaped, orange to coral-red flowers, each segment bearing a central green stripe, in spring and summer.  The leaves emerge with the flowers.  [RHSE, Hortus].  

Added on May 10 2009

Chimonanthus praecox Link.

Fully hardy, vigorous, broadly upright, deciduous shrub with lance-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs and pendant, fragrant, sulphur-yellow flowers, 2.5cm across and marked brown or purple inside, borne on the bare stems in winter. To 4m.  [RHSE, SD, HM, Don].

Added on March 02 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

Florists’ flowers

Floristry, in the 17th, 18th and 19th century meaning of the word, the growing and improvement of flowering plants for the sake of their beauty alone, has a long history in China and Asia but is of relatively recent origin in Europe.  From quite humble beginnings, the small scale leisure activity of artisans and labourers, it attracted the attention of the owners of the great pleasure gardens and botanic gardens of Europe.  Specialised nurseries began to appear to service great and small gardens, providing a means of disseminating the beautiful new varieties which the nurseries were both breeding and obtaining from enthusiastic amateurs.

Published Mar 12, 2010 - 03:41 PM | Last updated Jun 27, 2010 - 05:30 PM

Colonial Australian Wines

The following article appeared in The Gardeners’ Chronicle of Saturday, November 25th, 1854. It includes a review of seven wines sent to the proprietors of The Gardeners’ Chronicle from Camden Park by William Macarthur, together with his notes on the wines, the vineyards in which they were produced and the economic conditions pertaining to wine production and sale in Australia. Macarthur’s brief notes, when read with the more detailed essay Some Account of the Vineyards at Camden, extends our knowledge of wine production at Camden but most importantly provides an external (but not necessarily unbiased) view of the quality of the wines.

Published Jun 30, 2011 - 02:12 PM | Last updated Jul 04, 2011 - 09:00 AM

The Family Amaryllidaceae at Camden Park

Amaryllidaceae was a very significant family of plants in the history of the Camden Park gardens.  The following Essay provides a little background to these important plants.

Published Jan 01, 2010 - 05:11 PM | Last updated Jul 30, 2010 - 02:54 PM

Camellias at Camden Park

Most of the camellias grown at Camden Park are cultivars of Camellia japonica L., the ‘Common camellia’, a native of China, Korea and Japan.  The first plant introduced to Britain in 1739, and figured in Curtis's Botanical Magazine [BM t.42/1788], is close to the wild type.  It bears single red flowers in early spring but is rarely planted now and was not grown at Camden Park.  William Macarthur was an important breeder of camellias and many of the cultivars described in the Hortus were bred by him.  Unfortunately few of these have survived.  

Published Mar 13, 2010 - 02:43 PM | Last updated Jul 30, 2010 - 02:46 PM