ALL THINGS BANKSIA

Saturday 7th May 2022 2.00pm
Doors open at 1.30 for set-up, registration, and book sales
Afternoon tea
Duggan Pavilion, Hall Road, Cowaramup

$5 at door
Vaccination certificate required or medical exemption
Masks worn indoors

The trials, tribulations & tricks of growing our complete collection of banksia species and maintaining it;

soil, climate, pests and diseases, fertilizer, watering, picking and pruning, mulching.

A short discussion on Dryandra amalgamation.

Grafting techniques to enable banksias to be grown in other environments. (Phil Trickett & Catriona Bate Banksia Study group members from Milton, NSW)

The lesser-known special features, what makes them special?

Banksia pics from our garden.

Social media presence.

Question time.

Book sales.

Kevin Collins is a banksia enthusiast. Together with his wife, Kathy, they have transformed a previously denuded farmlet at Banksia Farm in Mount Barker, Western Australia into the world’s only complete collection of Banksia species. This was recognized in 1993 and continues to build with the discovery of new species. Revegetating with predominantly banksia, dryandra and other proteaceous species has resulted in a thriving eco-system with abundant fauna in all its forms and has been accredited by Land for Wildlife.

A tourism enterprise evolved. Seed and plant sales were established and, with appearances on gardening shows and in magazines, the notoriety spread. Flowers were provided for the Kings Park and Botanic Gardens flower show at Chelsea, the 2000 Sydney Para-Olympic games floral bouquets and specimens for renown botanical artists, Celia Rosser and Margaret Pieroni.   Consultancies in USA, UK and Western Europe on floriculture, assisting several PhD students in studies on banksias, conducting tours at Banksia Farm and furthering studies and love of banksias helped lead to co-authoring the book “Banksias” with botanist, Alex George, in 2008 with the second edition published in 2020.

During this time, Kevin built a two-storey granite home designed by Kathy. A dedicated centre was also needed, so a café-gallery, fashioned in the style of old mill houses, was built of jarrah and has now been converted for accommodation as a self-contained cottage.  Tourists were educated until closure of the garden to the public in 2018.

Their story continues, in retirement, as leaders of the ANPSA Banksia study group. A joint partnership with the Australian National Botanic Gardens lead to a consultancy to establish a dedicated Banksia Garden in Canberra. This was opened in 2021 to celebrate the gardens’ 50th anniversary. Community projects involving Open Garden days, revegetation within Mount Barker township and Twin Creeks Reserve, ongoing research into Dieback resistance in Banksia coccinea, are proving to be exciting and rewarding.

The ‘Collection’ continues to be maintained in the paddock at Banksia Farm.