Kings Park Botanic Garden awarded a Gold Medal

21/5/97

Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes today announced that Kings Park and Botanic Garden had been awarded a Gold Medal for its first wildflower display at Chelsea Flower Show in London.

"The achievement of this award represents international success for the Kings Park and Botanic Garden team, renowned for the Kings Park and Botanic Garden Wildflower Festival," Mrs Edwardes said.

From May 20-23, Kings Park and Botanic Garden is displaying Western Australia's floral riches at Chelsea Flower Show regarded as the world's foremost flower show and which attracts 200,000 exhibitors and visitors.

"This is the first year that Kings Park and Botanic Garden has presented a display of living wildflowers at Chelsea," Mrs Edwardes said.

The display is part of 'Good Living - Western Australia' in London, an initiative of the Department of Commerce and Trade to promote WA wine, food and wildflowers.

The special challenges posed in displaying wildflowers out of season were overcome using hydroponics and specially bred hybrid Lechenaultias that flower throughout the year.

The Chelsea show is officially known as the Great Spring Show. However, in the southern Hemisphere Autumn flowering wildflowers are selected for air freight to London and have to pass rigorous quarantine requirements.

For example, no soil is allowed into the United Kingdom, and Kings Park and Botanic Garden staff used hydroponic techniques to flower Sturt's Desert Pea and Mulla Mulla out of season, and are utilising new hybrid Leschenaultias developed at the park for colour.

The WA flora is one of the World's most diverse and interesting floras and has already aroused comment at the flower show. With over 12,000 species in WA, the flora has been compared to a coral reef out of water.

Roger Fryer, curator, Technical Services and Grady Brand, curator, Collections and Displays are working with Linda Lukies of Flowers and Studio in Mosman Park to recreate a tableaux of the Goldfields and the South-West.

These tableaux serve to illustrate the diversity of WA's climate and flora. The sight of a red sand dune in the Great Marquee has already attracted considerable comment.

Media contacts: Minister Edwardes: Diana Russell Coote (08) 9421 7777