The Geelong Botanic Gardens has unveiled a new hakea garden created in partnership with horticulture students from The Gordon.
The Geelong Botanical Gardens team working with students from The Gordon to plant the new hakea garden. Photo: Supplied
About 40 hakeas were planted near the gardens’ car park last year, with many of the species rare or threatened.
Half were grown from seed by the students, who have spent recent months propagating and cultivating the uniquely Australian plants as part of their hands-on training.
Belonging to the Proteaceae family, hakeas are known for their hardiness and drought tolerance. With more than 150 species displaying a wide variety of leaf shapes and flower colours, the new planting will expand the gardens’ native display and showcase lesser-known Australian species.
Horticulture lead at The Gordon, Tony Hughes, said the project was giving students valuable experience across the full growing cycle.
“Hakeas are such an interesting genus, with a huge variety of leaf shapes and flower colours. They are a very adaptable plant and many of them are suited to Victoria’s changeable weather.
“The opportunity for our students to see the full cycle of growing plants from seed through to planting out is fantastic, and the fact that it is part of the Botanic Gardens and available for all to see is a bonus, too.
“We plan to grow another 20-30 different species for planting out again this year, and more in 2028 until we have the whole genus represented here in Geelong.”
City of Greater Geelong councillor Elise Wilkinson said the project highlighted the value of partnerships between education providers and council-managed spaces.
“This project gives horticulture students real–world experience while helping us protect important native species. It’s a great example of working together to support biodiversity in our region.”
Comments are closed.