Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens - Autumn Hills Gardens

After a long hot summer, nature's alchemy is at work in the Adelaide Hills, and for visitors to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens the middle of autumn offers a feast of colour. Amid the Australian eucalypts there are brilliant reminders of what's called the Fall in parts of the Northern Hemisphere. This botanical mix of both the old and new worlds near Mt Lofty is no accident.

"1948 - the Board of the Botanic Gardens approved in principle the acquisition of some land in the Adelaide Hills to grow plants from the temperate and cold temperate regions of the world. This of course isn't possible on the plains. It's too warm and the soils are alkaline where of course in the hills we have acid soils and that is more similar to the conditions that these plants grow in their native habitats".

A trip to the Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens is a pleasure at any time but by mid autumn ground covers like the catonie astor, frame nearly every view. And the variety of colour to be found here is largely due to the work of one visionary, a man who knew that tucked away in this panoramic sweep was a special garden just waiting to be created.

"Yes, it certainly was a vision wasn't it? Mr Noel Lothian, the former director of the Gardens was the one who could see how well a garden in the cool of the Adelaide Hills would do, would be able to grow beautiful plants that don't grow well on the plains". "I guess back in 1948 when he first suggested it to the Board of the Botanic Gardens, and of course Noel's still alive today, to be able to see it in its reality must be an amazing sense of accomplishment".

"Well I think it must be, I certainly would feel like that, to see it come to fruition in such a glorious way".

"Now tell us about these trees behind us. I know there's quite a number planted around the Adelaide suburban area".

"Yes, indeed. Many people would recognise them as street trees. This particular one is facsinus excelsior. And the variety Orea, which of course means gold. Hence, this is the Golden Ash. The colour develops particularly well in the cool of the Hills of course. So even though it may be grown on the plains, most people would be familiar with the real glowing gold that we can see up here".

And around every corner, there's more colour like the flame red leaves of these Pine Oaks from North America. Sadly, you'd be hard pressed to grow these in your garden down on the Adelaide Plains, but you can experience this amazing array of autumn magic for the next few weeks at least. It's all within an easy walk from the gardens lower carpark off Lampert Road at Piccadilly.

The Mt Lofty Botanic Gardens are open from 8.30am to 4.00pm on weekdays and from 10.00am to 5.00pm on weekends.

For more information you can email info@postcards.sa.com.au