by Carla Caruso
Last weekend’s APA Guided Walk through the Adelaide Botanic Garden (Park 11) was as popular as ever, attracting a huge turnout.
A total of 45 participants, of all ages, joined the walk, led by Park 11 Ambassador Loïne Sweeney, on Sunday 10 November.
Tour participants heard about River Red Gums, at least 250 years old, still living in the Garden. Photo: Stewart Sweeney. (Main photo, top, also by Stewart.)
Among the stops during the Garden tour was Araucaria Avenue. Planted in 1868, it is one of the oldest surviving avenues of these trees, with the genus stretching as far back as the Jurassic period.
The Araucaria Avenue at the Garden. Photo: Stewart Sweeney.
At the Economic Garden, tour participants learned about a type of garden pioneered in the 19th century, when plants and products began to be viewed as commodities that could be harvested for wealth and economic development.
The tour group enjoyed some shade while learning about the Economic Garden from APA guide Loïne Sweeney. Photo: Stewart Sweeney.
Walkers also got to visit a popular sight in the Garden’s Australian Forest – the Queensland Bottle Tree. And at the Main Lake, they heard about the earlier Indigenous history of what was originally a natural waterhole.
The Queensland Bottle Tree in the Garden. Photo: Stewart Sweeney.
As well, the tour group perused the International Rose Garden. Featured there is a sculpture of Queen Adelaide after whom our city and one of the roses displayed is named.
Another highlight of the tour was stopping at the award-winning Bicentennial Conservatory, which houses the Garden’s beautiful Australasian tropical plant collection.
Park 11 Ambassador Loïne Sweeney at the Bicentennial Conservatory. Photo: Stewart Sweeney.
One walker on our Facebook page, Lynne Kibble, said: “It was fabulous having the Chihuly artwork to view also [during the tour].”
Chihuly glass art on show in the Garden’s Palm House. Photo: Christina Tilston.
APA will host just three more Guided Walks this year, so if you’ve been thinking about pulling on your sneakers, now’s the time!
For information on the remainder of our 2024 guided walks, head here: https://events.humanitix.com/host/adel_park_lands.
