History alive in Gardens’ natural skyscrapers

THE Friends of Ballarat Botanical Gardens are celebrating some of earth’s biggest pieces of living history this month.

As part of the Ballarat Heritage Festival, FBBG are facilitating a program exploring the Giants of the Tree World, particularly the Gardens’ Avenue of Sequoiadendron Giganteum.

FBBG president Terry O’Brien said these huge redwoods, also known as wellingtonias, are exotic for the Goldfields as they’re native to California.

“The trees in the Avenue of Sequoiadendron Giganteum were imported from America and planted in the Gardens between 1863 and 1874,” he said.

“The planting started 158 years ago and now the whole avenue of 28 trees is on Victorian Heritage register which lists the state’s most significant heritage places.

“They are the skyscrapers of the natural world, and some specimens in America are around 3000 years old, and up to 95 metres tall.”

Mr O’Brien described the Wellingtonia avenue as the “spine” of the Gardens that “links it all together,” running for one mile, from the North Gardens to the south.

“Everyone loves it. You walk down on a misty, wintry morning and it’s got a beautiful, cathedral-like feel with the big, long branches descending down.”

There is only one other avenue like this in the Benmore Botanic Garden, Scotland, however, the American trees are healthier there due to the climate.

Because of the millennium drought, a shift in environmental temperature, and suspected lightning strikes, these giants affectionately known as the big trees, are no longer thriving in Ballarat.

“This exotic is not doing so well, and the situation is not going to get better with the way the climate is changing, so what do we do?” Mr O’Brien said.

From Saturday, 8 May, FBBG are hosting events to start conversations with the community about the significance, health and history of the trees, and how they might next approach maintenance of them.

At 11am, FBBG will lead a free guided tour of the avenue, before a two-hour presentation with guest speakers and an afternoon tea. An activity, Baby Giants, will be run by the FBBG children’s education team, BotaniKids.

Information about the trees will be displayed in the conservatory until Sunday, 30 May.

Visit bit.ly/3u1l7om to book tickets for The Giants – Living Heritage in BBG sit-down presentation at the Robert Clark Horticultural Centre on Saturday, 8 May, 2pm to 4pm.