12 0417 294 778 A Touch of Grass Garden Care GARDEN CLEANUPS / REJUVENATION & MAKEOVERS A SPECIALTY We offer an experienced, professional and reliable service Call Jeremy on ... Est. Gold Coast since 2001 Let us create your new and rejuvenated garden where you can sit back, relax and enjoy your tranquil surroundings ... Specialising Garden Makeovers & Rejuvenation * Garden Care * Plant Selection * Soft Landscaping by Kate Heffernan Honorary Life Member Friends of GCRBG, Botanic Garden Consultant Three wonderful flowering plants attracted the attention of two famous explorers, botanists and plant collectors, and soon became part of an Australian Christmas. Robert Brown spotted and collected the glorious Ceratopetalum gummiferum, commonly known as NSW Christmas Bush, growing on a headland in Port Jackson in 1802. Brown was the botanist who journeyed with Matthew Flinders, circumnavigating the continent, collecting and often naming what were mostly unknown species to them. The species must have been collected earlier as it was named in 1793 by J.E Smith, founder of the Linnean Society in England, the oldest learned society devoted to the science of natural history. The species remains popular in floristry during the Christmas season, and is grown commercially in plantations. Its natural range is from the Sydney Region to Evans Head in Northern NSW, and is popular as a small tree in gardens. The small white flowers are cupped in protective sepals, often mistaken for flowers. The sepals enlarge and turn a brilliant, reddish-pink, and along with the first flush of white flowers, result in a long vase life. Ludwig Leichhardt is known for his daring exploration, and sadly, for a failed crossing of the continent from East to West. Leichhardt and his expedition team were never located. His work as a botanical plant collector and explorer on Australian shores began in 1842, continuing his prolific record-keeping and plant collection up until the fatal crossing. In 1842, Leichhardt collected the delightful Christmas Bell, Blandfordia grandiflora, on the shores of Lake Macquarie, NSW. Its natural range is from around Sydney to Fraser Island, and it was collected in an area of swampy ground at Bilinga in 1931. It has stiff, narrow leaves and a flower spike that extends above the leaves, carrying up to 20 bell-like, orange and yellow flowers. Christmas Orchid, Calanthe triplicata is another species first collected for identification by Leichhardt in 1845 in Queensland. The collection area has been removed from public records to ensure its survival from potential threats. Its natural growing environment is along the coast and coastal ranges north from Wollongong to Cape York, in shade on the rainforest floor or under dense sclerophyll forest. Enjoy NSW Christmas Bush flowers that are grown in plantations or on private land. The latter two precious beauties, which bring joy and beauty during the Christmas Season, are protected at various levels by State and Commonwealth Legislation. Christmas Orchid and Christmas Bells in the wild are under potential threat from harvesting, with stringent licensing and hefty penalties for breaches. Celebrate these once commonly local flowers only from approved sources. GARDENING Blandfordia grandiflora Christmas Bells Calanthe triplicata Christmas orchid Ceratopetalum gummiferum NSW Christmas Bush
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