Sophie Cunningham's creative inspiration drawn from nature | My Garden Path | Gardening Australia

Sophie Cunningham is a well-known Australian author who has penned nine books ranging in genre from novels, essays, and children’s books—usually with an element of memoir. She draws much of her creative practice from walking and spending time in natural places. Subscribe 🔔 http://ab.co/GA-subscribe
She works out of her office in the Abbotsford Convent, where she shares the history of one of her favourite trees there, the Separation Oak. Planted in 1851, it is named for the year when Victoria separated from New South Wales to become its own state. It is striking in its wildness in the tame landscape of the Convent. It hasn’t been trimmed so the boughs droop down and touch the floor, ‘when it is in full leaf it feels like this big green cave, it’s really extraordinary.’

This tree is an example of Sophie’s quest to write about the history of cities as told by iconic trees within the landscape. Often this is encountered through long walks through the city, noticing and connecting the dots between colonial landmarks and the ages of remnant pre- or post-colonial trees. Sophie started walking everywhere after living in the USA for a while. When she came back to Melbourne, she walked to develop a new lens on the city she grew up in.

“Writers mark the page, but walkers mark the earth and the earth, in turn, marks us. I feel increasingly compelled to walk to random places, to know them through the soles of my feet.” pg. 61, City of Trees

She takes us to the Royal Botanic Gardens to speak of the Lion’s Head Tree, a majestic old river red gum. Notably found on the banks of rivers and near wetlands, its presence in the now-dry area of the park indicates the ecological history of this landscape. Sophie was compelled by it, ‘it felt as if the tree was communicating to me and saying, ‘you need to ask these questions.’’

This and other river red gums are found in this part of the Botanic Gardens, as the Yarra River used to encroach on this area, creating a wetland. During Melbourne’s colonisation, the river was dredged and straightened to move further from the bottom of the gardens. This change occurred hundreds of years ago, and would be imperceptible were it not for the presence of these water-loving trees betraying the history of colonisation.

Featured Trees:
ENGLISH OAK - Quercus robur 
(Check before planting: this may be an environmental weed in your area) 
RIVER RED GUM – Eucalyptus camaldulensis 
MOUNTAIN ASH – Eucalyptus regnans  
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