Botanica Festival

Gather your botanica-loving friends and family: the Botanica Festival, the National Trust of Australia (Victoria)’s annual celebration of the natural environment, sustainability and gardening, is returning for its fifth year on Sunday 19 May at the iconic Rippon Lea Estate. 

Held in partnership with City of Glen Eira Council, Botanica brings together locals, young families, and nature enthusiasts to one of Victoria’s most majestic heritage-listed sites for a lush celebration of nature and gardening.  

Browse locally-made artisan products from Rose St. Markets, join informative garden tours and talks, wander the nationally heritage-listed mansion, stock up for your garden at the massive plant sale propagated by the estate’s own gardeners, plus enjoy an impressive Bonsai Exhibition from the Bonsai Society of Victoria. And so much more! 

Entry to the Festival is by gold coin, with all proceeds going towards supporting the National Trust in conserving and protecting Victoria’s natural, cultural and built heritage. 

Panel Discussion: The Significance of Heritage Gardens and Landscapes

1:00pm at the Boathouse

As part of the Australian Heritage Festival, a special panel discussion will be held between landscape and garden experts to share their knowledge and opinions on the importance of heritage gardens and landscapes. Key themes will include sustainability and the conservation of heritage gardens.

Moderator:  

• Maddison Miller is a Darug woman and Lecturer in Ecological Knowledge at the University of Melbourne. Maddi is an accomplished archaeologist, with experience in deep time and historical archaeology as well as heritage management. She is deeply interested in connecting many ways of knowing to care for Country.   

Panellists:  

• Annette Warner is a registered Landscape Architect and Associate with GbLA Landscape Architects. Annette has more than 16 years’ experience working on a diverse range of heritage garden projects in the public and private sectors as a horticulturalist and design practitioner. Her work may be seen at the Royal Botanic Gardens – Melbourne Garden, Parliament House and The Kelly Family House in Beveridge. Annette also has 10 years’ academic teaching and research experience in landscape architecture and design. Her PhD, nearing completion, examines Gordon Ford’s natural Australian Garden through his personal archive, adjacento developing a curatorial methodology for research on the relationship between the garden and the archive.
• Lucas Dean is a Senior Associate at Landscape Architecture and Urban Design firm Taylor Cullity Lethlean (TCL). With over a decade of experience in complex landscape settings, Lucas has worked on botanically rich projects including Girgarro Botanical Gardens, garden upgrades at Australian Garden, Cranbourne Botanical Garden, and Parliament of Victoria Rooftop Annexe.  Lucas has a commitment to award-winning innovative landscape architecture design, creative built outcomes, and botanically diverse approaches with an interest in diverse and significant Australian flora through working on complex garden and civic landscapes.
• Justin Buckley, Executive Manager – Gardens and Landscapes. Justin is responsible for the care and management of the National Trust’s garden and environmental heritage sites throughout Victoria. 

The event is proudly supported by The City Of Glen Eira and the Heritage Council Victoria.