Parks & gardens
A 1920s garden revisited
The garden at Meroogal, dating from 1886 was a source of pride for the Thorburn and Macgregor families
Plant your history
A mossy analogy for Susannah Place: small but mighty
Mosses are everywhere! They are small, mighty, unsung and inhabit the most unusual places. They can be found in all our museum outdoor spaces if one looks closely enough
Plant your history
A new weapon in the war on weeds
A black and yellow sign warns me there is “Spraying in Progress”, and I wonder for a moment why no one is wearing a mask, or even gloves. But the dangerous looking mist enveloping these men is not what it seems
A pond in a privately owned paddock
Today, Sydneysiders would find it incredible that a century ago many of the harbourside beaches and parks to which they flock in summer were privately owned and not accessible to the public
Museum stories
Abundance & curiosity at Elizabeth Farm
One of the great pleasures of visiting Elizabeth Farm is strolling from the drawing room onto the winding paths of the pleasure garden, just as the original occupants, the Macarthur family, did two centuries ago
Plant your history
Acanthus - an apt symbol for The Mint
Look at any classical building today, anywhere in the world and chances are you will find an acanthus leaf lurking somewhere
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Aloe arborescens ‘candelabra aloe’
Tours at Elizabeth Farm often start alongside a large bed of succulents, dominated by towering cactus
Plant your history
An accidental fernery at Susannah Place
Deep in the basement of one of the terraces at Susannah Place in The Rocks grows a small patch of vibrant green native Maiden Hair Fern
Plant your history
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia arborea) at Vaucluse House
Angel’s Trumpet (Brugmansia arborea) is a beautiful perennial shrub native to South America. It was introduced to the colony from Rio de Janeiro for its attractive trumpet flowers