Historic garden Tour: The Latitude Garden at the University of Melbourne

This week on The Horti-Culturalists we were very fortunate to be able to film a series of videos in the wonderful grounds of the University of Melbourne, home to many a rare and wonderful plant! In this first of the series we take a look at somewhat of a botanical conceit; the Latitude Garden. As the name suggests, the idea behind the garden is to showcase plants from the three continents in the Southern Hemisphere: Australia, South Africa & South America, that all grow between 30 & 40 degrees latitude. There are some house and garden plants, the origins of which might surprise you! Rare and fabulous trees and a South American garden bed that Stephen's keen to get his hands on! So join us in this tour of the Southern Hemisphere with grateful thanks to The University of Melbourne and to head gardener Virginia McNally for taking time to explain the garden to us. The plants we name in this video are:
Corymbia maculata - spotted gum
Phytolacca dioica - ombú tree
Bromeliads
Fascicularia
Libertia
Lycianthes rantonnetii - blue potato bush
Schinus molle - peppercorn tree
Erythrina crista-galli - coral tree
Cussonia - cabbage tree
Leucadendron argenteum - silver tree
Kniphofia - red hot poker
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And our video about Chilean plants here: • Eight rare and beautif...

[@wendywhitham5357]

Thanks for taking us to this garden and thanks to the head gardener for allowing you to film there. I thought it looked fascinating.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Many thanks for watching!

[@daisyflower4105]

Peppercorn trees were planted in many school yards ( NSW) . So very nostalgic for me. I love the smell of the leaves when you rub them between your fingers. ❤

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@pocketsofmayhem]

What an interesting concept for a garden. It’s like what might have been if continental drift went differently. 🤔Thanks as always for informative and engaging content

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@dianecotton9531]

Pretty sure we had a Phytolacca at my childhood home , at Staughton Vale at the foot of the Brisbane Ranges in Victoria. As a child, l loved it's big base that was like a cubby house. Not sure if it's still there.

[@dewdan11dnd46]

🫶🌿The notion of this garden is interesting, as it is a workable palette, with a few abstract feature plants, when included, to guide the eye from boundary to rear positions. Thanks Stephen and Matthew, spot on 👍🍃

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@MDA-rs4uf]

Wow, possums climbing trees.. I've never heard of that....ours in the southeast US are basic scavengers on the ground as far as I know, yet they eat up to 300 ticks per day..we do not deter them from that, of course...interesting....also,,,, I love the smell of our pepper tree Choysia which is actually from Mexico .. I just happen to have 2 of them...

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@tarzouet3142]

To see more arid climate plants, check Melton Botanic garden in Victoria, Australia

[@thehorti-culturalists]

We plan to do some filming there in late winter/ early spring. Regards Stephen

[@yvonnerolley9676]

Very old peppercorn trees were common place in Victorian state primary schools -Kew

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@Janette0220]

as someone who works in the architectural industry (nsw), i am surprised they didnt design the building around the tree instead of spending so much to move it. also very surprised that the client (melb uni) is ok with spending so much to relocate it just a little bit off its original place. nonetheless, latitude garden is quite an interesting concept but as mentioned, needs a bit more work visually

[@thehorti-culturalists]

Thanks for watching!

[@mariabunny9608]

Another great road trip. Thank you. Hopefully they take you on as a consultant. A question. Do you grow tea in your garden? With global warming, some people are now able to grow tea in Vancouver Canada. I was wondering what variety would be a good tea plant to try? Thanks Maria

[@mawkernewek]

I've actually made a drinkable tea out of the leaves of ornamental camellia in Cornwall, UK. This would be Camellia japonica and/or Camellia x williamsii.

[@thehorti-culturalists]

I don't grow tea although there is no reason why I couldn't, however I don't have any experience with different cultivars that could help you. Regards Stephen

[@mariabunny9608]

Thanks Davydh I will look into that.