Photograph - Colour, Clare Gervasoni, Begonia Conservatory in the Wombat Botanical Gardens, Daylesford, 2019, 23/04/2019

Historical information

Daylesford's begonia collection was stared by French born curator W. Gascoigne in 1885. He was an experienced horticulturalist. The plants were grown again in the 1930s in a new glasshouse. Curator Bill Greville obtained 45 plants from the Ballarat City Council, 30 from Queens Park in Essendon, and soon haad 250 tubers including a (lost) one named 'Daylesford'. When Alf Headland was appointed part-time caretaker in 1956, he found tw tubers in the wood shed and became expert in their cultivation. He continuted well into his retirement when Greg Rae too over. In 1988 the conservotory was named to honur Alf Headland's work.

Physical description

Hot house in the Wombat Gardens with a Begonia display.

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