Dahlia ‘Queen Victoria’

Introduced in 1853, ‘deep yellow, edged with red, well up, and good outline.’  [FC p.37/1853].  ‘Dahlias expected to be extensively cultivated this year include “Queen Victoria”.’  [Gard. Chron. 1853].

Added on April 21 2009

Vitis vinifera ‘Shiraz’

‘Bunches, long, loose, and shouldered. Berries, large, oval. Skin, thick, reddish purple, covered with blue bloom. Flesh, rather firm and juicy. Juice, pale red, sugary, and with a delicious aroma. Ripens in a cool vinery, and is as early as the Royal Muscadine.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.406/1884].

Added on June 24 2010

Cuphea ignea A.DC.

Frost tender, spreading, freely-branching, soft-stemmed shrub, often grown as an annual, with lance-shaped leaves and slender, deep red flowers, 2-3cm long, with a dark red band, white rim and 2 tiny black-purple petals, borne singly from the upper leaf axils from spring to autumn.  To 75cm.  [RHSE, Hortus].

Added on March 11 2009

Verbena x hybrida Hort. ex Vilm.

A race of bedding verbenas, derived primarily from Verbena teucrioides, V. incisa, V. peruviana and V. phlogifera, developed in the mid-19th century.  They are erect and bushy, or spreading and mat-forming perennials, usually grown as annuals, with tight panicles of tiny, white, pink, red, yellow or purple-blue flowers, usually with a white eye, in summer and autumn.  To 45cm.  [RHSD].  The many varieties referred to here are most likely to be of this race. 

Added on January 30 2009

Isoloma tubiflorum Decne.

Frost tender, perennial, shrubby gesneriad with hairy, ovate leaves, paler beneath, and small, tubular, yellow flowers, tinged with red.  [RHSD].

Added on August 31 2009

Lyperanthus suaveolens R.Br.

Deciduous terrestrial orchid with a subterranean tuberoid, erect, narrow leaves and racemes of stiff-textured, long-lasting flowers with a strong musky fragrance, in winter to spring.  Flower colour is variable, ranging from yellowish-brown to almost black, with a yellow apex to the labellum.  In the wild it forms loose colonies.  [Jones, FNSW, Pridgeon, Beadle].

Added on January 26 2010

Camellia japonica ‘Nobilissima’

A cultivar of Camellia japonica L. ‘Leaves two and a half inches wide and three inches and eight lines long, roundish oval, a little acute, much dentated, and of a beautiful green, bud oval, obtuse, scales yellowish; flowers large, three inches in diameter, full white, exterior petals large, numerous and recurved; those of the interior smaller, crowded, rumpled; in appearance like the Pomponia. –Superb.’  [Berlèse Monography p.49/1838].

Added on June 30 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 2: Climate and Soil

Letters on the Culture of the Vine and Manufacture of Wine by Maro, pen-name of William Macarthur. Letters I and II deal with climate, site and soil.

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 01, 2010 - 03:26 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2011 - 11:16 AM

Raising Tropaeolum tricolor from seed

If you have tried growing Tropaeolum tricolor from seed you have probably encountered difficulty and obtained a low germination rate.  This was certainly my experience before I took this advice.

Published Jan 01, 2010 - 03:33 PM | Last updated Jul 30, 2010 - 03:38 PM

Letters on the Culture of the Vine Part 6: The Vintage

Letters on the Culture of the Vine and Manufacture of Wine by Maro, pen-name of William Macarthur. Letters IX, X and XI deal with the vintage, including the theory and practice of fermentation and preparation for winemaking. The process of winemaking is dealt with in more detail in subsequent letters. The illustration used here is a wine label from the 1852 Muscat vintage. Follow this link to further examples of wine labels from this period.

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 15, 2010 - 03:53 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