Wittunga Botanic Garden
Encyclopedia
The Wittunga Botanic Garden is in Adelaide
, South Australia
, and is one of three botanic gardens that comprise the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide
. It is located on Shepherds Hill Road, Blackwood
, in the foothills
. Beginning as a formal English garden
at the home of Edwin Ashby
in 1901, it changed over the years assisted by the efforts of Edwin's son, Arthur Keith Ashby to include South African and native Australian plants. Wittunga’s displays of these plants are especially spectacular in spring and include rich collections of Erica
, Leucadendron
, and Protea
, complemented by displays of exotic and unusual bulbs and colourful annuals. The majority of the South African plants in the garden come from the Cape Province
district which has a climate similar to that of Adelaide.
The Australian collection features plants from the Fleurieu Peninsula
and Kangaroo Island
, southern Western Australia
and includes a fine collection of eucalypt
s. Meandering pathways through the Terrace and Sandplain Gardens give visitors the opportunity to see these distinctive and colourful collections. Many different birds can be seen attracted by the good supplies of nectar produced by the flowers of plants in the collection.
In 1965 Edwin Ashby's son Keith donated the garden to the State. It was opened to the public in 1975 and is managed by the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and is one of three botanic gardens that comprise the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide
Adelaide Botanic Garden
The Adelaide Botanic Garden is a public garden at the north-east corner of the Adelaide city centre, in the Adelaide Park Lands. It encompasses a fenced garden on North Terrace and behind it the Botanic Park...
. It is located on Shepherds Hill Road, Blackwood
Blackwood, South Australia
Blackwood is a south eastern suburb located in the foothills of Adelaide, South Australia.-History:The first use of the name "Blackwood" appears to have been before 1880, in relation to the "Blackwood Inn", a small hotel located where the Belair Hotel now stands, and was probably derived from the...
, in the foothills
Adelaide Hills
The Adelaide Hills are part of the Mount Lofty Ranges, east of the city of Adelaide in the state of South Australia. It is unofficially centred on the largest town in the area, Mount Barker, which has a population of around 29,000 and is also one of Australia's fastest growing towns.- History :The...
. Beginning as a formal English garden
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
at the home of Edwin Ashby
Edwin Ashby
Edwin Ashby was an Adelaide based Australian property developer and a noted malacologist interested in chitons and ornithologist. He was a founding member of the South Australian Ornithological Association in 1899, and of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union in 1901 for which he served...
in 1901, it changed over the years assisted by the efforts of Edwin's son, Arthur Keith Ashby to include South African and native Australian plants. Wittunga’s displays of these plants are especially spectacular in spring and include rich collections of Erica
Erica
Erica ,the heaths or heathers, is a genus of approximately 860 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The English common names "heath" and "heather" are shared by some closely related genera of similar appearance....
, Leucadendron
Leucadendron
Leucadendron is a genus of about 80 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where they are a prominent part of the fynbos ecoregion and vegetation type.-Description:...
, and Protea
Protea
Protea is both the botanical name and the English common name of a genus of flowering plants, sometimes also called sugarbushes.-Etymology:...
, complemented by displays of exotic and unusual bulbs and colourful annuals. The majority of the South African plants in the garden come from the Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
district which has a climate similar to that of Adelaide.
The Australian collection features plants from the Fleurieu Peninsula
Fleurieu Peninsula
The Fleurieu Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Adelaide in South Australia, Australia. It was named after the French explorer and hydrographer Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin as he mapped the south coast of Australia in 1802.Towns of interest in the...
and Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island
Kangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, southern Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and includes a fine collection of eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...
s. Meandering pathways through the Terrace and Sandplain Gardens give visitors the opportunity to see these distinctive and colourful collections. Many different birds can be seen attracted by the good supplies of nectar produced by the flowers of plants in the collection.
In 1965 Edwin Ashby's son Keith donated the garden to the State. It was opened to the public in 1975 and is managed by the Botanic Gardens of Adelaide.