Notice

Colin Mills, compiler of the Hortus Camdenensis, died in late November 2012 after a short illness. As he always considered the Hortus his legacy, it is his family's intention to keep the site running in perpetuity. It will not, however, be updated in the near future.

Camden Park House from the East Lawn. Photography by Leigh Youdale

Selected plants in the Hortus

Rosmarinus officinalis L.

Hardy evergreen shrub with downy shoots and opposite, narrow, lance-shaped leaves, dark above and pale beneath.  The pale violet flowers are borne in the leaf axils of the previous years growth.  To 2m.  [RHSD, Hortus].

Added on February 15 2009

Verbena x hybrida ‘Excelsa’

A cultivar of Verbena x hybrida Hort. ex Vilm., the Florists’ Verbena.  ‘Deep reddish rose, a fine kind, with a profusion of large trusses. Height 12 to 18 inches.’  W. P. Ayres.  [Gard. Chron. Oct. 11th, 1845].  ‘Excelsa’ was included in Wood’s list of rich-coloured varieties.  [Gard. Chron. 1848].

Added on April 24 2009

Caladium bicolor Vent.

Tender, tuberous-rooted perennial with slender stems bearing broadly lance-shaped, dark green leaves spotted and streaked with white, pink or red, and greenish white spathes in spring.  To 30cm.  [RHS, Hortus].  There are numerous garden varieties.

Added on February 15 2009

Protea rosacea L.

Half hardy, compact shrub with slender branches, linear leaves, to 24cm, occasionally flushed red, and a perpendicular inflorescence composed of brilliant rose to crimson or mahogany bracts, buff in the centre, and reddish flowers in a crowded cone, in late spring.  To 1.2m.  [RHSD].

Added on March 21 2010

Oenothera elata Kunth subsp. hookeri (Torr. & A.Gray) W.Dietr. & W.L.Wagner

Fully hardy erect perennial or biennial with lance-shaped leaves and numerous cup-shaped flowers which, opening at dusk, start pale yellow and age to orange-red, in summer.  To 90cm.  [RHSE, Hortus].

Added on October 13 2009

Lampranthus emarginatus N.E.Br.

Stems erect, branched, leaves slender, keeled, with translucent dots, the flowers magenta and numerous.  To 45cm.  [RHSD, Hortus].

 

Added on February 11 2009

Buxus sempervirens L.

Fully hardy, bushy, rounded shrub or small tree with glossy, ovate to oblong leaves, notched at the tips.  To 5m.  [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Added on March 02 2009

News

Improvements to Hortus Camdenensis

The Hortus software has been upgraded. This led to some minor errors in the layout of plant names, particularly in the headings of Plant Profile pages but these have now been largely overcome. Improvements are also progressively being made to the content of the Hortus in three main areas, botanical and horticultural history, cross referencing and illustrations. Some enhancements will be done as the opportunity arises but most will be completed family by family. This will take at least two years to complete.

 

 

Published Sep 14, 2010 - 04:06 PM | Last updated Aug 12, 2012 - 04:36 PM

Sir William Macarthur on Vines and Vineyards

Sir William Macarthur wrote extensively on vines and Vineyards. It is our intention to publish all his writings in the Hortus.

Published Aug 01, 2010 - 04:58 PM | Last updated Oct 04, 2010 - 04:47 PM

Working Bee dates

Working Bee dates for 2012.

 

Published Jun 29, 2010 - 02:59 PM | Last updated Jan 10, 2012 - 05:19 PM

Open House and Gardens

Camden Park House and Gardens will be open to the public on Saturday 22nd September, 2012, from 12.00 noon until 4.00 pm, and Sunday 23rd from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm.

 

Published Dec 30, 2009 - 02:58 PM | Last updated Jan 09, 2012 - 05:31 PM

Essays

Letters on the Culture of the Vine Part 2: Climate and Soil

Letters on the Culture of the Vine and Manufacture of Wine by Maro, pen-name of William Macarthur. Letters I and II deal with climate, site and soil.

The entire book is reproduced in the Hortus in ten parts. For background information and Macarthur’s Introduction to the book see Part 1.

Published Sep 01, 2010 - 03:26 PM | Last updated Jul 21, 2011 - 11:16 AM

The Fuchsias of Camden Park

The first fuchsia introduced to English gardens in 1788 was a variety of Fuchsia magellanica Lam.  This new plant soon attracted the attention of florists and, stimulated by the regular introduction of new species and varieties from South America, selection and hybridisation saw a rapidly increasing number of named varieties available through the nurseries.  The first record of a fuchsia at Camden Park is Fuchsia conica, which arrived on board the ‘Sovereign’ in February 1831.  By 1857 fifty-eight species, cultivars and hybrids had been recorded as growing in the gardens.

Published Mar 14, 2010 - 10:50 AM | Last updated Jun 24, 2011 - 02:45 PM

Rambles in New Zealand - Part 2

Rambles in New Zealand is the only published work of John Carne Bidwill of any length and an important document in the early colonial history of that country.
It is included in the Hortus for a number of reasons but mainly because, together with his letters to The Gardeners’ Chronicle, it completes the known published works of Bidwill. His importance in the history of the Camden Park gardens and the lack of any substantive treatment of his life and achievements make it appropriate to include all his published work here.
Rambles is published here in four parts:
Part 1 – dedication, Preface, pages 1-29
Part 2 – pages 30-59
Part 3 – pages 60-89
Part 4 – pages 90 -93, List of Subscribers

 

Published Feb 29, 2012 - 12:18 PM | Last updated Mar 01, 2012 - 07:02 AM

Colonial Australian Wines

The following article appeared in The Gardeners’ Chronicle of Saturday, November 25th, 1854. It includes a review of seven wines sent to the proprietors of The Gardeners’ Chronicle from Camden Park by William Macarthur, together with his notes on the wines, the vineyards in which they were produced and the economic conditions pertaining to wine production and sale in Australia. Macarthur’s brief notes, when read with the more detailed essay Some Account of the Vineyards at Camden, extends our knowledge of wine production at Camden but most importantly provides an external (but not necessarily unbiased) view of the quality of the wines.

Published Jun 30, 2011 - 02:12 PM | Last updated Jul 04, 2011 - 09:00 AM

About the Hortus

The Hortus attempts to correctly identify, describe, illustrate and provide a brief history of all the plants grown at Camden Park between c.1820 and 1861.

Plants in the Hortus

The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes: ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicine, food from the garden and orchard, and many others.

Plant Families

Plants in the Hortus are grouped by Family, perhaps the most useful of the higher order classifications.

Essays

Essays enhance the Hortus by providing a level of detail about the gardens, people, and plants that would be inappropriate for an individual plant profile.

Hortus News

News provides an opportunity for people interested in the gardens to keep in touch with the work being done to maintain and reinvigorate the gardens and receive advance notice of events such as Open Garden days.