Lupinus sericeus Pursh var. sericeus

Perennial lupin with pubescent stems, palmate leaves with 5-9 leaflets and white to blue flowers.  To 1.2m.  [The Great Basin Naturalist vol.38, p.331/1978].

Added on October 03 2009

Calochilus robertsonii Benth.

Terrestrial orchid with an ovoid tuber, a long, narrow, conspicuously channelled leaf, to 20cm long, and a terminal raceme of up to 8, greenish-purple flowers, the labellum covered with purple hairs, in spring.  To 35cm.  [Jones, FNSW, Beadle].

Added on January 26 2010

Rosa ‘George Cuvier’

Bourbon rose.  The flowers are rosy-cherry in colour, beautifully tinted with light purple, large, full and of compact form, on a moderate sized shrub.  The Gardeners’ Chronicle described its flowers as bright cerise, shaded pink.  [Paul (1848, 1863, 1888), Gard. Chron. 1846, Amat].

Added on February 11 2010

Begonia coccinea Hook.

Large, sub-shrubby, cane-stemmed begonia with branching stems, ovate leaves, to 15cm long, reddish beneath and large coral-red flowers in drooping clusters.  Parent of many hybrids and varieties.  To 1m or more.  [RHSE, Hortus].

Added on June 20 2009

Achillea millefolium L.

Fully hardy herbaceous plant with small white flowers in dense, flat corymbs.  There are many garden cultivars with rose, red or yellow flowers.  To 90cm.  Tendency to be invasive but easily controlled.  [RHSE,  Hortus].

Added on February 01 2009

Habranthus species unidentified orange no.2

Probably Habranthus, Rhodophiala or related species, perhaps a form of Rhodophiala advena (Ker-Gawl.) Traub which see. This plant is used as illustration.

Added on May 09 2009

Grevillea caleyi R.Br.

Frost tender, evergreen, spreading shrub, stems covered in reddish hairs, with deeply pinnatifid leaves and racemes of dark red flowers.  To 4m.  [RHSD, FNSW, Beadle].

Added on March 17 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

Letters on the Culture of the Vine Part 8: Fermentation of the Wine

Letters on the Culture of the Vine and Manufacture of Wine by Maro, pen-name of William Macarthur. Letters XIV and XV describe primary and secondary fermentation of the wine. The illustration used here is a photograph of the cellars at Camden Park House.

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 30, 2010 - 05:11 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2011 - 11:14 AM

Establishing an Orchard in Colonial Australia

Every Colonial gentleman with a household to maintain needed to keep an orchard of sufficient size to meet the needs of his kitchen and dining table at all times of the year. In 19th century Australia planting trees was an almost entirely manual operation, and establishing an orchard an expensive undertaking. William Macarthur developed a thriving and profitable nursery business in the 1840s, with an extensive and varied catalogue of plants for sale but heavily dependent on trees and shrubs, particularly fruit-bearing trees such as vines, oranges, apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots. It was in the interests of Macarthur to ensure that the plants he sold were of high quality and that when received by the customer his plants not only survived but thrived and were productive. To this end he published a brief but detailed guide to what needed to be done to ensure that the planting of trees was as successful as possible and provided the best long-term results for his customers.

Published Jun 26, 2010 - 04:30 PM | Last updated Jun 26, 2010 - 04:36 PM

A Brief History of the Camden Park Gardens

William Macarthur, born at Parramatta, New South Wales in 1800, was the youngest son of the colonial pioneers John and Elizabeth Macarthur. He became an accomplished agronomist, horticulturist, viticulturist and gardener, but above all he was a plantsman. Although he certainly sought to create a pleasant gentleman’s garden at Camden his real interest was in growing useful, unusual, exotic and beautiful plants for their own sake as well as for their utility. He established his first garden at Camden in 1820. More than 3000 species, hybrids and cultivars were grown in the gardens up to 1861, all of them described in the Hortus. Many more were grown in the succeeding decades. Of course not all of these plants succeeded at Camden. William was an innovator and put much energy into determining which plants could be acclimatised and which could not and he became an authority on the subject, his expertise sought by such bodies as the Queensland Acclimatisation Society, founded in 1862.

The historic value of the Camden Park gardens is almost inestimable.  Many changes have occurred in the gardens in the almost 200 years since they were first laid out, but the basic framework of the gardens remains with many historically significant trees and shrubs surviving. Over the years the diversity of plants in the gardens has naturally diminished. This has occurred mainly since World War II, partly due to a lack of labour to maintain and replace the more sensitive species and varieties. The economic conditions of today make it very difficult to manage extensive private gardens but John and Edwina Macarthur-Stanham, the present owners, have done much to halt and reverse the post-war decline, and there is a very real desire on the part of the family to maintain and develop the gardens.

Published Jun 27, 2010 - 02:25 PM | Last updated Jun 27, 2010 - 02:33 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