Contents
Retracing Country at New York Botanical Garden – Indigenous stories uncovered in the archive Dakota Feirer
Across the world, extracted plants – gathered from Indigenous Country – constitute the laboratories and archives of natural history. This includes preserved herbarium specimens from Australia, The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), in the Bronx has at least 50,000 botanical specimens from Australia. As each record contains biocultural information about Indigenous Country, inevitably their data will be of use to communities seeking to care for their lands and waters both now and for generations to come. Country, as we know, holds memory and tells stories.
Trees as monuments – Napoleon’s willows, memory and empire Ekaterina Heath and Emma Gleadhill
As society debates how to deal with the political symbolism of imperial monuments, it is timely to consider how commemoration Extends beyond statues and into the natural world. Tree monuments operate according to a different logic: rather than signalling closure, they invoke an ongoing relationship between people, place and memory. The stories constructed around Napoleon’s willow trees in Australia reveal the shifting role of these monuments.
Digging up wisteria in the archives – The gardens at Cintra House Erica Wright
What can digging through archives teach us about garden history? During the author’s time as the Vera Deacon intern at the University of Newcastle in 2025, she had quite the adventure exploring heritage-listed Cintra House, its gardens and its archives. Working on ‘The Treasures of Cintra House’ project showed that garden history can be found in more unlikely places, buried in historical letters and tangled in roots of complex family connections.
The singular – The Hordern family oak Trisha Dixon
Margaret Senior OAM – Illustration as a tool for environmental communication and conservation Ari Chand, Chloe Killen and Andrew Howells
A quiet and dedicated achiever, Margaret Hilda Senior (née Plowman) OAM (1907−1995) was one of Australia’s most prolific illustrators. Although many may not recognise her name, her work could be familiar: it has featured in classrooms, visitor centres and national parks across the country. Senior was known for her dedication to highlighting the unique fauna and flora of her newfound home in Australia after emigrating from the United Kingdom in 1940. No other illustrator in Australia has maintained such rich collaborative and enduring relationships or played such a central role in environmental visual communication across multiple government and non-profit agencies over such an extended period of time.
Twenty-five years in the Walcott garden – The evolution of a Canberra native garden, 2001 to 2026 Ros Walcott
In 2001, the garden in the suburb of Red Hill in Canberra consisted of a long hedge of cotoneaster infested by seedlings of fruit trees, together with clumps of pampas grass and a large area of rough lawn. Since, the garden has been transformed into one planted almost entirely with Australian natives.
Garden history from abroad – Two London exhibitions Janet Whelan
One of the pleasures of travel is the discovery of something new or unexpected. During a visit to England in the spring of 2025, this included a visit to the British Library’s Unearthed: The Power of Gardening. The exhibition was vast, interesting and informative in every part. To top off my day in London, I also visited the Garden Museum, a small, but charming museum, located next to Lambeth Palace.
For the bookshelf: Eucalyptus by Stephen Hopper Reviewed by Colleen Morris
What is surprising is the perspective on the subject taken. Instead of a purely botanical approach, the book, though punctuated with many botanical facts, also highlights the importance of the interaction and cultural significance that humankind has developed with various eucalypt species.
Vale Gilbert Robertson Teague 31 May 1943–12 February 2026
Profile – Pamela Jane
A profile of Pamela Jane, AGHS Southern Highlands Committee and NMC member.
Advocacy Jane Lennon
One pressing topic for AGHS advocacy in 2026 is the densification of urban areas and how this threatens historic gardens and their curtilage.
Good news – The Australian Garden History archive Nancy Clarke
In June 2025, a project was completed so that electronic copies of Australian Garden History, the Australian Garden Journal and Garden Cuttings are available via the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) website.
Good news – The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL): a new chapter begins Nicole Kearney
On 1 January 2026, BHL officially entered its new chapter. It is now operating as an independent international consortium. BHL Australia remains a strong contributor to the global library. The digitisation of AGHS journals is a wonderful example of how local histories can gain global reach, and how global infrastructure can serve national and specialist communities alike.
From the chair Helen Oates
AGHS national oral history collection: Marion Blackwell
A brief profile of AGHS member Marion Blackwell drawn from an interview recorded for the AGHS national oral history collection.
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