Rain has started to fall after 10 days of blue skies and sunny days.
Walks on the beach in Otago with friend Kiri saw waves rolling in across the Pacific from the roaring forties. Once this beaches were clothed by forest.
These southern rata Metrosideros umbellata herald summer in South Island Aotearoa especially now pest brush tail possum introduced from Australia 100 years ago, have now been reduced in number, and the forest again can bloom.
So until next week WARAMI
WARAMI WARAMI,
I am sorry I did not post last Sunday. In Aotearoa for the celebration of the life of my friend and brother-in-law Jon, Sunday was spent at the Pokawau School Cafe. Here the owner and chief barista Robbie made a last coffee for Jon. This commenced a sharing among friends and family of Jon’s life. A climber, Jon de Vries, had climbed the Pacific Wall of El Capitan, the Caroline Face of Aorangi ( Mt Cook)
Caroline Face Aorangi Mount Cook Photo by Howie Silleck, March 20, 2006
and was perfect partner in the bush. I had the pleasure of being in the mountains with Jon on much tamer walks. He was always great company in the hills, Jon had a great sense of humour as well as a love of coffee, a pleasure I also share. So I thought today I would share some stories about this magical fluid. Coffee comes from the plants Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora cv Robusta ; syn. Coffea robusta
Otto Espresso machine - the new Atomic
and is native to the mountains in the Yemen. Discovered over a 1,000 years ago reputedly after villagers noted that goats after eating the fruit which had fallen on the ground repeatedly mounted the nannies. Also it is recorded by Arab Scholars the characteristic that after drinking several cups of the liquid made from the roasted beans , a person could stay awake and work for long hours. From this drink developed the cafe and coffee culture we celebrate today.
As the tee-shirt says life is too short to drink bad coffee. So my friend Jon who was a craftsman in everything he did bought the most manual espresso machine one could buy and then would make the best coffee. The Otto is a stainless steel replica of that classic espresso machine acclaimed as one of the best designs of the 20th Century, the Atomic. Good espresso coffee can be made from these machines. It only requires the perfect grind ( fine like sand grains) an accurate dose ( too little and its bitter, too full and you can choke it) and then if you have patience, you get a fine espresso with perfect creme. It is not one of those machines for the lover of the quick and easy.
So finally why did I choose Totara in the heading. Well in Aotearoa in Maori culture when a special person dies it is said a Totara has fallen the forest.
Podocarpus totara
This tree is a conifer in the Podocarpaceae which is a mainly southern hemisphere family. They are a Conifers which were dominant in the Mesozoic ( 250 million to 65 million years ago) sometimes called the age of reptiles and especially dinosaurs. They have cones rather than flowers. Members of the podocarp families’ cones have two to five fused scales, of which only one, rarely two, are fertile, each fertile scale with one apical seed. At maturity, the scales become berry-like, swollen, brightly coloured red to purple and fleshy, and are eaten by birds which then disperse the seeds in their droppings. These fruits are extremely important in the ecology of the forests of Aotearoa (New Zealand) as in heavy fruiting years many of the rare birds have timed their breeding to coincide with these mast fruiting events. The Totara lives to over 1,000 years and has been recorded growing to 35m. The timber was used by the Maori to build their large Waka ( War Canoes). So it is with sadness I record the passing of my friend Jon and I hope I have shared some of the plants that have stories relating to just some aspects of my friend’s life. Until next week
Warami Warami
Rob
Albury Botanic Gardens - family fun
Warami Warami.
You may have noticed I haven’t been writing for a couple of weeks. Well I have been lucky enough to attend the Botanic Gardens of Australia and New Zealand Conference in Albury this year. This was a meeting of people working in botanic gardens on our two islands. We meet every two years and share ideas and experiences so we can continue to provide a great and beautiful place where people can enjoy plants in a natural space. The family above was happy to allow me to photograph them as they entered the gates of the Albury Botanic Garden on a Sunday for a picnic among the lawns and trees. When I explained I was in their town and garden while attending the BGANZ conference and that I was interested in why they were choosing the botanic garden over any other place for their adventure, I got the smile from the kids and mums above. For them it was a place of safety, beauty and tranquility where the kids could run and explore in a natural environment.
A walk in Albury Botanic Garden
Their botanic garden was green and tranquil and in every corner there was some one absorbing the atmosphere. There were huge ancient trees planted by the first gardeners which now provided shade, laid down the framework of the place and amazed on lookers and kids who used the trunks to hide behind, the bark to touch and for me it seemed to be providing a place in their imaginations which was laying down memories of fun and adventure for years to come.
Agathis robusta Queensland Kauri
I watched a 7 year old marvel at the bark on this ancient Kauri from Queensland planted over 100 years ago. 
The garden for these kids was already a place of play and adventure with the only limit being the child’s imagination.
Today many public gardens are considering creating children’s gardens, often the idea driven by the play space provided at the golden arches where parents can leave their kids in a secure space while they drink coffee, chat with friends and absorb lots of trans fats. I wonder if our botanic gardens are not already spaces in kids memories and imaginations where they can play and run and have and adventure as part of a family. For me I think we need to make sure the entire garden is a space for children and families rather than creating a place to leave them alone in. So I would like to encourage botanic gardens to provide these spaces like the Kauri where a child can use their imagination to make an adventure. If we intend to add elements for children in our botanic gardens, lets continue to weave them seamlessly into the landscape.
The rest of my week was spent preparing for a workshop on the continued development of the virtual botanic garden – our website, blogs, Facebook, twitter and the rest of our digital revolution. One idea from the BGANZ conference that had caught my attention was a new type of barcode – QRcode by Addison. <img src=”http://qrcode.kaywa.com/img.php?s=5&d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au%2F__data%2Fassets%2Ffile%2F0019%2F88003%2F1_Audio_Track.mp3″ alt=”qrcode” /
This two dimensional barcode represents a great deal more information and now http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/mobiles/australias-white-hot-smartphone-revolution-20110908-1jz3k.html 37% mobile phones Australians own are smart phones with internet linkage these tools are now a new way we can link our webpages to plants our visitors see in our gardens.
This code if you scan it with your smart phone and you have a QRcode reader will open and play an audio tour of the botanic garden here at Mount Tomah – Touching Time.
Touching Time
Please enjoy and until next week
Warami my friend.
WARAMI Warami,
The staff at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah today dressed to wish the Royal Couple, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Jetsun Pema a happy marriage. Karen dressed in her beautiful Kira she brought back from Bhutan and also brought to our garden the 8 good luck symbols. Then we meet in our new library and Karen placed the exquisite door curtain as a back drop for our staff to send our greetings to the people of Bhutan and wish her Royal Couple a happy marriage.
Blue Mountains Botanic Garden staff at Mount Tomah wish the couple a happy marriage; Kathy, Rusty, Michael, Karen, Jan, and me.
In our Asian Plant Explorers Walk this week two plants that grow in Bhutan are flowering. With its soft white flowers and weeping form Rhododendron edgeworthii makes a backdrop for Karen’s colourful Kira. I decided to wear my Tigers Nest Teeshirt and the yellow woven belt. While normally worn around the waist of a slim Bhutanese woman for me the sash style seemed more appropriate.
Rhdododendron edgeworthii sets off Karen in her Kira
To the left of Karen is the red flowered Rhododendron arboreum and Karen holds the eight symbols of good luck.
Warami and Tashie Delek
Rob
WARAMI WARAMI, today the sun is warming us in the Blue Mountains here in Australia as the royal couple in Bhutan are preparing for their wedding.
King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck with bride to be Jetsun Pema
Bhutan’s 31-year-old King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck will marry Jetsun Pema, in Punakha Dzong on the 13th of October. With the wedding date this week Bhutanese people in Australia are planning many celebrations to mark this occasion. From the land of gross national happiness this wedding marks part of the ongoing movement, of the wonderful ecological and cultural treasure which is Bhutan, to democracy. Jetsun Pema is a commoner and daughter of an airline pilot. In 2008 he was crowned King Jigme Wangchuck, after his father abdicated to enable the transition to democracy
To mark the marriage I thought it would be good to have a look at the plants here in the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah which link us to Bhutan. You may recall the botanic garden here is organised geographically with plants from Europe and Asia planted together. In our Asian Explorer’s Walk we have on display many plants from this region. Since Karen and my journey to Bhutan approval has been given to build a Bhutan garden here.
Daphne bholua - Photo - Piet van der Poel
One interesting plant with links to Bhutan is Daphne bholua which we hope to collect with our partners in Bhutan. So how does this plant link us to the royal wedding you may be wondering?
The daphne grows in wide range across the Himalaya and has a papery bark that is used for the making of paper. In Thimphu
Daphne bholua bark soaking for paper making in Thimphu
we visited a paper making factory
Paper making in Bhutan
where this beautiful product is still manufactured using traditional methods. In Bhutan this soft brown paper with leaves still pressed in the surface is used to wrap presents so they are subtly beautiful. A present is given and is not opened in public. It is taken home and opened later to be appreciated by the receiver. No wonder Bhutan is such a happy culture.
Daphne bholua paper
Here at Mount Tomah Karen is going to wear the traditional dress of Bhutan, the Kira, on Thursday 13th and stand beside a plant that grows in Bhutan which is in flower, Rhododendron edgeworthii, and toast the Royal couple. Watch our Facebook page for the photos. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mount-Tomah-Botanic-Garden/120351291351529
From at the staff here at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah we would like to wish the King and his new Queen
Tashie delek
Warami my friends and please join us in wishing the Royal Couple a healthy and happy marriage.
Warami Rob
The wedding will be here at Punakha Dzong
WARAMI WARAMI
It’s a holiday here in Australia, the skies are grey, and the soft pastel colours of spring are all around. I started to think, I know a dangerous thing to do even on a holiday, are there any plants which link to our holiday? So to google and the books in the library I went and if you have the time or the inclination to go with me on this journey, yes there are plants. It all begins in Europe and let’s see if we can end up in Australia.
1840 saw Samuel Parnell settle in Wellington, New Zealand migrating from the UK where as carpenter he had been required to work 14 to 16 hour days. He was committed to the concept of an 8 hour working day, with 8 hours for sleep and 8 hours for recreation and family. As New Zealand was desperately short of skilled labour he was able to convince all new migrants arriving to hold out for working only 8 hours. His promotion gained such support that by 1841 the 8 hour day movement had agreed that any new immigrant agreeing to work more than 8 hours would be thrown in the harbour. And how does this link to a plant? The NZ emblem now is the silver fern Cyathea dealbata. This tree fern is only found in NZ and its leaf is green on top and silver underneath. It was a symbol of NZ exports and included in the insignia of the NZ troops who served in the South African wars 1898 to 1902. On the 28th of October 1890 a march was held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 8 hour day. By 1899 it had been declared a public holiday and in 1910 NZ settled on 4th Monday in October.
In many other countries this day is celebrated on the 1st of May. As this in a northern hemisphere it is the first day of spring. With a history harking back to pagan times flowers have been gathered and garlands woven to celebrate the end of winter.
These flowers were often woven into ribbons and sometimes a birch tree was brought into the village and then the ribbons of flowers were woven intricately together. Banned by the puritans because this pole was a seen as a phallic symbol and the interweaving of the garlands of flowers in a dance ( Morris dancing) was lewd and unchristian, the maypole was a symbol of fertility.
By 1886 in Chicago labor movements were lobbying for an 8 hour day and fair treatment. A riot occurred with shots fired and a bomb thrown. Known as the Haymarket Affair, the leaders although not linked to the bomb and being recorded as discouraging violence, were convicted of inciting the violence and executed. The campaign for the 8 hour day became an interrnational goal for labour unions and at the 2nd International the 1st of May 1890 was declared an international day of campaigning for the this. Around the world large street demonstrations were held for the campaign. So the first of May became international workers day. This celebration is marked in France with giving of lily of the valley bouquets (Convallaria majalis
While the rest of the world had to wait until the mid 20th century for the 8 hour day, in Victoria the NZ hours were taking root and on 1st October 1855 the stone masons went on strike. By the 12th of May 1856 all public works in Victoria were working the 8 hour day and by 1877 there was a public holiday. The campaign to make the 8 hour day general in Australia is linked to the shearers strike of 1891. Based in Barcaldine Queensland the plan for the strike was coordinated here and the Ghost Gum (Corymbia aparrerinja became the symbol of these rights.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/GhostGums.jpg
So thanks for taking this journey with me. We now all enjoy a public holiday and when I look at the ghost gum, the lily of the Valley or the silver fern it will remind me of the people who earned the 8 hour day.
WARAMI it has been good to journey with you again.
WARAMI, Warami
How can a plant create a reconciled community? Today, Sunday 25, as the gentle soft rain of September moistens the soil and fills the new leaves of Spring, here at Mount Tomah we are celebrating that icon of Australia, the Waratah (Telopea speciosissima).
Telopea speciosissima - Waratah at Mount Tomah
Yesterday Chris Tobin, a Darug Man welcomed us all to Country and shared the Deerubbin story of the Waratah at the opening of our Wild about Waratahs Festival in the botanic garden Visitor Centre here at Mount Tomah.
Chris retold the story shared by Aunty Cindy Laws. In this teaching she told us that the people along the Deerubbin , now known as the Hawkesbury River, were fighting and so many were killed that the river ran red with blood. This poisoned the water so none could drink it. Biami the sky spirit looked down and was so saddened to see the desolation that he cried tears of pain. Where these fell arose the red flower of the Waratah. Chris explained this story shared by the old people was to help us to learn and be reminded that fighting and killing destroys our society and that the red flowers of the Waratah are there to remind us peace and reconciliation is the only way our society will flourish.
In the Visitor Centre here for the next two weeks are displayed over 100 blooms of waratah cultivars, flaunting the different colours horticultural breeders have produced over the last 20 years.
Telopea 'Wirrimbirra White' in Visitor Centre display at Mount Tomah.
Some of the colours now available are pink, white, red with white tips and there is even a yellow cultivar. The white form of T. speciosissima ‘Wirrimbirra White’ was collected near Robertson. While no subspecies have been identified, Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney’s Evolutionary Ecologist Dr Maurizio Rosseto described in 2011 from his teams genomic analysis a number of characteristics that differentiate the coastal form of the waratah from the mountains population on the Newnes Plateau. Their work identified that there are also intermediate characters in the populations between the mountains and the coast.
The good news from this work is that if populations of Waratah are able to have their pollen transferred beyond the boundaries of each group then these characteristics which make the individual either more cold or heat tolerant, can be transferred by pollinators to those changed environments. It also emphasises the critical importance of having protected intermediate reserves and populations or to put it simply – reserves can not be isolated islands but must join by corridors of local native plants if plants are going to be able to adapt to global warming.
Blue Waratah by Karen Maber Waradah Goomedah Exhibition
At this time of year the Waratah flowers tempt Sydneysiders to cut a wild flower and take it home. To stop this theft from the Bush, NPWS Rangers have had to resort to putting blue paint on the blooms. This painting by Karen Maber merges the quest to breed the blue rose with conservation of these exquisite blooms in the bush. Another work at Exhibition is by reknown Darug Artist Leanne Tobin and celebrates the pollinators. The structure of the waratah bloom is called a conflorescense by botanists. The structure is made up of hundreds of pairs of individual flowers with a nectary at the base. Honeyeaters, Pigmy possums and some insects seek the nectar at the bottom of the curved flower and rub against the pollen presenter in the flower. The pollen is then transferred to next pistil when an attempt is made to get nectar from another flower. It is interesting that Telopea speciosissimas flowers open with the bottom ones first and finally those at the apex or top open last. The other species T. oreades, T. truncata, T. aspera and T. mongaensis all open from the top down. If you are intrigued by this type of phenomenon then have a look at the different cultivars of Shady Lady, a cross between T. speciosissima and T. oreades. Those which have more of the speciosissima characters open from the base up and are called determinate, while those that open from the apex down are called by botanists indeterminate. By checking these characters out you will be able to see which parent’s characters are more dominant.
Then if this seems a little too esoteric just enjoy the beauty of this reminder of reconciliation and the importance of living peacefully on our planet.
Didjurigura – Darug for Thank you
Thank you for taking the time to read my journey today.
WARAMI DIDJURIGURA – It was good to see you, thank you.
Waratah Photo Jaime Plaza
