by Carla Caruso

The return of warmer weather means extended opening hours at the Adelaide Botanic Garden (Park 11).

Plus, Summer Sessions are back, with free live music and an outdoor bar on the weekends and public holidays.

Meanwhile, other exciting things have been happening at the garden recently, including the launch of a threatened plant seed orchard and a limited-edition wine release. Read on to find out more.

South Aussie seeds set for conservation success

Endangered plant species will be blooming for generations to come thanks to the conservation efforts of the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre’s newly launched Threatened Plant Seed Orchard.

Located in the heart of the Adelaide Botanic Garden, the orchard has been specifically designed to protect threatened plant species from extinction and preserve seeds for the future.

Seeds will also be propagated at an on-site nursery before being reintroduced into the wild as part of environmental regeneration projects across the state.

Seed banking is an increasingly important aspect of the protection of native plant species, with SA’s threatened plant populations shrinking by more than two-thirds in the past 20 years – a higher rate than for birds and mammals.

One of the species, Limestone Phebalium (Phebalium calicola), is a critically endangered member of the citrus family, located near Mount Gambier, which was only known from three wild plants prior to reintroductions over the past decade.

Staff have used the seed orchard to propagate a total of 200 of these plants, which were reintroduced to the wild by the Port MacDonnell Landcare Group in August.

Senior seed collection officer Dan Duval said, in some cases, the Adelaide Botanic Garden has a larger collection of specific threatened plants than you would find in the wild anywhere on Earth.

The centre works with a number of schools and farmers to promote the preservation of native plant species and to encourage them to create their own seed orchards, which assists with the conservation efforts.

Botanic wine

West Terrace Cemetery in G.S. Kingston Park / Wirrarninthi (Park 23) has its line of olive oil – and the Botanic Garden has its wine.

A fifth vintage of the garden’s limited-edition wine has been released, produced from grapes harvested in its own vineyard.

The 2021 Field Blend Rosé was produced in partnership with Pernod Ricard Winemakers and the National Wine Centre of Australia. Just 190 bottles were made.  

The garden’s vineyard is located in the southeastern corner – on Adelaide University land – and is managed by the National Wine Centre (a branch of the university).

It has several varieties growing: cabernet sauvignon, merlot, grenache, pinot noir, chardonnay, semillon, and riesling.

Historically, the vineyard was a demonstration site for drought-tolerant varieties of vines, suitable to the dry SA climate.

The original vineyard was located on the northern side of First Creek but was relocated closer to the Wine Centre with the establishment of the First Creek Wetland.

The relocation has created a milder, cool microclimate, producing grapes well-suited to white and rose wines. Previously, the grapes were not used to make wine and were purely demonstration vines.

The recent wine release demonstrates the diversity of opportunity for public and urban spaces like the Botanic Garden.

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Modern, sustainable toilet facilities are also coming to the Adelaide Botanic Garden. Read about the upgrades here.