Of Friends and Gardens

(Hardback)

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'It seems incredible, the vast knowledge that is held at the Garden, and how important it is that plants from all over Australia are thriving and protected here. For this is an invaluable living museum of some of the oldest flora on earth.'

Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is a unique site situated in Victoria which features natural bushland, heathlands, wetlands and woodlands. Cranbourne Gardens includes a vibrant contemporary botanic garden designed by internationally renowned landscape architects Taylor Cullity Lethlean. This book introduces the readers to the community activists who dreamed the gardens into reality.

Spanning 363 hectares and providing protection and conservation for 25 rare and threatened plant and animal species, the gardens have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of visitors since first opening to the public.

In Of Friends and Gardens, Carolyn Landon tells the remarkable and lesser-known story of the Cranbourne Friends of Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria the loyal community group who were instrumental in developing, protecting and conserving the site over the past 30 years. This dynamic group overcame challenges, travelled Australia and the world together, and developed lifelong friendships forged through their shared dedication to establish and maintain Cranbourne as one of the best gardens in the world.

Author Bio

Carolyn Landon is a longstanding member of the Cranbourne Friends and is known for Banksia Lady (Monash University Press), her biography of extraordinary botanical artist Celia Rosser. Carolyn is also author of Jacksons Track: Memoir of a Dreamtime Place (Penguin Random House), Jacksons Track Revisited: History, Remembrance and Reconciliation (Monash University Press); Cups with No Handles: Memoir of a Grassroots Activist (Hybrid Press); and Black Swan: A Koorie Womans Life (Allen & Unwin).