It’s goodbye, but not to gardening

NEXT time you attend the Begonia Festival, keep your eye out for an orange hybrid flower.

This begonia, the Peter Marquand, was officially named last week in honour of the City of Ballarat’s long-time parks and nursery curator who has announced his retirement.

“I knew the team had been breeding some begonias over the last couple of years… but I had no idea they were going to name it after me,” Mr Marquand said.

“I really appreciate the history and story of begonias, the connection to Ballarat, and what they do for the gardens, very much. It’s a rare thing.”

Mr Marquand joined the former Shire of Buninyong as the gardening foreman in 1990, before shifting his focus to the City of Ballarat’s Sturt Street gardens.

Becoming parks and nursery curator 17 years ago, he’s managed the botanic gardens of Ballarat and Buninyong, and the Eureka Stockade Gardens.

Throughout his leadership, Mr Marquand’s faced challenges like the drought and the “devastating” loss of heritage trees in last year’s major spring storm.

But he’s also made positive headway, including reinstalling the gardens’ historic outdoor statues, and being part of the parks and gardens’ apprenticeship program.

In his retirement, Mr Marquand will no longer have the “best office in Ballarat,” but he’ll continue to get stuck into gardening at home daily, ride his bike, and spend time with his family.

“I still love gardening,” he laughed. “I’m attached to sentimental plants like hydrangeas because my grandmother grew them, and I love roses.

“I love going to visit gardens. I used to drag my kids around botanical gardens everywhere in the state. It’s nice that there’s a generational interest in the gardens.

“My granddaughter Ruby is coming up to four, and she’s starting to get more interested in gardening. She always refers to the Botanical Gardens as Pa’s Garden.”