A day in the mountains

Stopped off at the 5th Collectors' Plant Fair at Bilpin, on Bells Line of Road, for a very quick walk through the 40 or so stalls. Quick because it was raining and because we had an engagement in Mount Wilson half an hour later.

It was my first visit to the Fair, but not my last! Next year I'll plan to spend a leisurely few hours, in the sun. Even on this quick visit I left with a Purple Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea) and a Venus Fly Trap (a cultivar of Dionaea muscipula), both native to eastern North America, plus one of the smaller-pitchered pitcher plant (Nepenthes).

At Mount Wilson I had my first visit to 'Hawthorn' (above), Michael and Gillian Pembrooke's 20-year old garden and home. Even in the rain (or perhaps because of the rain) looking across the lake up to the house was stunning. The memorable vistas, and the conifers and autumnal deciduous trees just hitting the prime of their lives, make this a garden worthy of the Mount Wilson tradition.
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Jim said…
Website of the Month! Gardening Australia May 2009, p. 80. Described as the ramblings of a 'botanic gardens groupie'. Way to go!
11:57 am, April 20, 2009
Jarrett said…
It was a great day at Mount Wilson, wasn't it? My companion's aversion to exotics precluded garden tours, but we did spend some quality time with the world's tallest moss near the waterfall. And no crowds ...
1:44 pm, April 20, 2009
The Sceptical Botanist said…
The Gardening Australia reference could have been less flattering so I'll take that as a compliment (and I'm as self-confessed groupie of bgs).

Re Mount Wilson - I managed to secure a visit to one of the less crowded gardens, which was nice. But seeing Dawsonia superba (which I presume is the one - I used to pay homage to the species in the Dandenongs when in Melbourne) would be equally pleasant...
2:59 pm, April 20, 2009
Anonymous said…
Great to see that you picked up some interesting carnivorous specimens. I keep persisting in my attempts to keep albany pitcher plants (Cephalotus follicularis) alive for more than a couple of seasons but I'm clearly doing something very wrong....
11:17 am, April 21, 2009
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