The History of Garden Design Using Native Plants 1788 - Now by Stuart Read

We only started planting natives in the 1960s, didn’t we?
Actually, no: that might be ‘round 3 or 4’. A skip through
settlement history, tracing our waxing & waning attraction to
and distraction from using native plants in gardens. Some ‘got
it’ right from the start, others still find this a bit of a challenge!
Why aren’t we celebrating our flora and why don’t we know
more about using it? Who, when, how, what influences were
important, links and cross-fertilisation from the nascent
conservation movement, will all be touched on.

Stuart Read was raised in New Zealand,
trained in horticulture, science and
landscape architecture. He’s been nuts about
plants since childhood, and about Australian
ones since his first tree, aged 8: a
Cootamundra wattle. He is currently Co
Chair of the Australian garden History
Society.