Patrice O’Shea

The Friends of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens were planning their annual Taylor and Sangster Lecture for 2024 when President, Frank Page, considered the possibility of growing that event into a full-blown celebration of the wintry gardens that are characteristic of this part of Victoria’s central highlands. The Friends have always marvelled at the unique beauty Wombat Hill, even in the worst days of cold, fog and rain! Time to celebrate and share the unlikely joys of a challenging season. He orchestrated a partnership between the Friends and the Daylesford and District Horticultural Society, the Daylesford Historical Society, the Daylesford Agricultural Society and U3A to fill the weekend of 3 and 4 August with informative talks and walks, great conviviality and even a competitive opportunity for the local community and visitors alike.

Thanks go to the members of the organising committee – Frank Page, Denise Robinson, Patrice O’Shea, John Binnion, Don Harvey, Gary Lawrence and Annie Duncan. Between them they produced four fascinating talks, a walking tour of the significant trees on Wombat Hill, an exhibition at the Daylesford Museum, a magical Winter Dinner in the historic Town Hall, two lavish “teas” and an inaugural Winter Flower Show in the conservatory at the Gardens.

Speakers were Janet O’Hehir, Honorary Curator of the Camperdown Botanic Gardens, Helen Botham and Helen Page, both active horticulturalists and garden historians, Helen Botham especially connected with Governor La Trobe and his gardening and Helen Page, former President of the Garden History Society. We appreciated their contributions to the weekend very much.

Local tree enthusiast, John Beetham, led a walk around the Botanic Gardens, highlighting the remarkable collection of very important trees that our bracing climate and deep volcanic soil have preserved over the last century and which we also have a profound duty to preserve.

Peter Leigh spoke at the dinner on Hellebores – Winter Wonders in the Garden. Peter breeds beautiful Hellebores in Ashbourne (near Woodend) and has made significant donations of plant material to Wombat Hill BG over many years. The huge collection of these extraordinary and diverse blooms currently lighting up the Gardens was part of the motivation to time the event in what could be seen as horticultural “downtime”. Any visitors to the Gardens over the weekend will realise that this is nothing like the case!

The dinner itself was a celebration of the warmth of good food and good company in stunning setting created by Denise Robinson and her team of indefatigable helpers.

The abundance of colour, fragrance and form that the Winter garden actually provides was clearly evident at the Flower Show where 171 entries vied for rosettes and sashes in the great tradition of friendly competition between home gardeners. We hope this might become an annual event.

Also on show at the Alf Headland Conservatory was the work of two local artists. Miriam Porter’s installation of her sculptures of local birds and huge, wonderful conifer seeds was an extraordinary show of her considerable talent. The Gardens’ wombats are Miriam’s too. Marcia Divincentis  shared her exquisite and quite arresting botanical paintings. Their colour and detail just underlined the potential and richness of the season.

 

The  exhibition  at the Museum was another fascinating exploration of the depth of the collection held by the Daylesford and District Historical Society and a wonderfully nostalgic experience for those of us who already appreciate or have just discovered Daylesford and Wombat Hill and its remarkable heritage.  This excellent show will be open to the public each weekend this month.

So many individuals put so much work into making the weekend the triumph it was and we thank them most sincerely. But thanks must also go to the major sponsors who underwrote what was very much a leap in faith. Grants were received from Hepburn Shire and the Community Bank Daylesford District. Without these we would not have been able to stage the various activities, the majority of which were free. Biggin and Scott provided the huge and eye-catching signage outside the Gardens, a game changer in advertising! And they also organised the moisture-proof presentation of the botanical artwork in the Conservatory.

But the prime mover, guiding hand and vision for what was a heroic collaboration of community groups and a significant showcase of our district, was Frank Page, and many thanks must go to him for his extraordinary hard work and perseverance.

Patrice O’Shea is the Secretary of the Friends of Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens.