NEXT time you attend the Begonia Festival, keep your eye out for an orange hybrid flower.<\/p>\n
This begonia, the Peter Marquand, was officially named last week in honour of the City of Ballarat\u2019s long-time parks and nursery curator who has announced his retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI 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,\u201d Mr Marquand said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really appreciate the history and story of begonias, the connection to Ballarat, and what they do for the gardens, very much. It\u2019s a rare thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Marquand joined the former Shire of Buninyong as the gardening foreman in 1990, before shifting his focus to the City of Ballarat\u2019s Sturt Street gardens.<\/p>\n
Becoming parks and nursery curator 17 years ago, he\u2019s managed the botanic gardens of Ballarat and Buninyong, and the Eureka Stockade Gardens.<\/p>\n
Throughout his leadership, Mr Marquand\u2019s faced challenges like the drought and the \u201cdevastating\u201d loss of heritage trees in last year\u2019s major spring storm.<\/p>\n
But he\u2019s also made positive headway, including reinstalling the gardens\u2019 historic outdoor statues, and being part of the parks and gardens\u2019 apprenticeship program.<\/p>\n
In his retirement, Mr Marquand will no longer have the \u201cbest office in Ballarat,\u201d but he\u2019ll continue to get stuck into gardening at home daily, ride his bike, and spend time with his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cI still love gardening,\u201d he laughed. \u201cI\u2019m attached to sentimental plants like hydrangeas because my grandmother grew them, and I love roses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love going to visit gardens. I used to drag my kids around botanical gardens everywhere in the state. It\u2019s nice that there\u2019s a generational interest in the gardens.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy granddaughter Ruby is coming up to four, and she\u2019s starting to get more interested in gardening. She always refers to the Botanical Gardens as Pa\u2019s Garden.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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\u2019s long-time parks and nursery curator who has announced his retirement. \u201cI knew the team had been breeding some begonias over the last […]<\/p>\n