The Avenues of Honour project is a national initiative to document, preserve, promote and reinstate the original Avenues of Honour and to establish new commemorative trees recognizing war service, encompassing plantings from the Boer War, World Wars One and Two and all subsequent conflicts.   Glenn Williams is a former National Heritage Manager of the National Trust of South Australia and subsequently Director of Treenet, a not for profit organization responsible for the Avenues of Honour project.   There are more than 540 known Avenues of Honour in Australia, with more than 300 in Victoria. As a majority were initiated during or immediately after World War One, most of the original trees are over one hundred years old, and a significant number have disappeared or are not in good condition. Many of the small settlements where Avenues were established have also disappeared leaving no local people to care for them.   Now in retirement, Glenn devotes his time as a volunteer to continue with the project. He has many observations on the suitability of trees in different districts and climatic conditions.   Online Zoom ticket info will be sent to attendees via email before the event.

Celebrate Valentine's Day with other passionate lovers of Burnley Gardens. Relax with nibbles, drinks and music on the Melaleuca Lawn (weather dependent), followed by a seated dinner in the Main Hall with speaker John Patrick, well known garden show presenter, tour guide, principal of a landscape design firm and former lecturer at Burnley.

Members are invited to enjoy an end of year “Friends Gathering”. Come celebrate Christmas with a 45 minute walk and talk in the gardens led by Andrew Smith. See and hear about the significant shrubs at Burnley Gardens. Andrew is the former Gardens Curator and Campus Manager at Burnley retiring 3 years ago after 34 years at the helm. He is a wealth of Burnley knowledge! Enjoy finger food with a glass or two of champagne or soft drink. Guitar music provided by Peter Mrkusich. Free for all FOBG members, bookings essential.

Join Chris for an introductory lecture followed by a hands-on workshop. Hear all about how to Summer prune fruit trees to maximise fruit production, then practice your skills in the Burnley Field Station orchard. Chris will also show you how to produce fruit on espaliered trees. This is a small group workshop, where you will practice under an expert’s watchful eye. Suitable for beginners or as a refresher for experienced pruners.   Morning tea included. Bring clean secateurs, closed toe shoes, rain jacket, hat.

There will be perennials, natives, salvias, produce, bulbs, succulents, shade and indoor plants and more for sale. Payment by cash or card, BYO carry bags and parking available on Yarra Boulevard. The plant sale is on the same day as the Burnley Campus Discovery Day, so make a day of it!

Join a tour of the magnificent gardens surrounding Victoria's Parliament House. The gardens were established in 1856, the same year that the Parliament of the state of Victoria opened. Within this garden, Peter Elliott Architecture and Urban Design has designed a new Members Annex building. The beautiful building merges into its extraordinary landscape setting. The roof garden features a serpentine bluestone path that weaves through a rich mosaic of native shrubs, grasses and wildflowers. The striking silver shrubs are sculpted to evoke drifting clouds and to provide a foreground to the views towards St Patricks Cathedral. Tour starts at 11am sharp for FOBG members only. Meet at the Spring Street gate on the Collins Street end of Parliament House. Tour is weather permitting. If conditions are unsuitable, an alternative tour inside Parliament House will run instead. Bring walking shoes, drink bottle and rain jacket.

Both in-person and online (Zoom) options available. Peter's talk on 'Climate change challenges for gardens and gardeners' Does climate change present a challenge for gardens and gardeners? Peter May will give a presentation on some of the issues that he thinks climate change will present to gardeners over the coming decades. He will look at potential effects of increasing temperatures and possible changes to rainfall patterns and how those could affect plants. He will also discuss briefly his own attempts to develop a garden that has some climate resilience built in. Peter lectured at Burnley from 1976 until his retirement, as Head of Campus, in 2005. He still presents invitational lectures in the Master of Urban Horticulture program.

Nature and green spaces make us feel better, but why is it so? And how can we design gardens for human restoration? Drawing on global evidence-based research, Sandra Schwarz - author of the new book “RESTORE: How Green Spaces support Human Restoration” - will illustrate some of the proven benefits of nature on human wellbeing. Providing a new and universal approach to this topic, Sandra’s presentation will demonstrate how restorative green spaces can nurture and support us physically, mentally, emotionally, socially and spiritually. Sharing the key lessons of her process from thesis to reference book, Sandra will present international case studies to explain, unpick and explore concepts that any green space should include to provide users that relaxing ‘exhale effect’ of respite.   Author Bio SANDRA SCHWARZ is an educator, landscape architect and author who is passionate about understanding and sharing what makes green spaces restorative. The seed for her book was sown while undertaking a double Masters – Landscape Architecture, at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (Alnarp) and University of Melbourne (Parkville/Burnley). The book expands on her academic work and draws on experiences and reflections on restorative and therapeutic green spaces across Europe, Asia, North and Central America. Sandra has continued to support education and the sharing of knowledge at the Burnley Campus (University of Melbourne), particularly supporting the delivery of Therapeutic Landscapes. Sandra volunteers weekly at the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre, helping care for the gardens that are so appreciated by the patients, staff and visitors.   Online Zoom ticket info will be sent via email before event.   Books available for purchase at event. Purchase from website or email beforehand to secure your copy.  

Join Chris for an introductory lecture followed by a hands-on workshop. Hear all about how to Winter prune fruit trees to maximise fruit production, then practice your skills in the Burnley Field Station orchard. Chris will also show you how to produce fruit on espaliered trees. This is a small group workshop, where you will practice under an expert’s watchful eye. Suitable for beginners or as a refresher for experienced pruners.   Morning tea included. Bring clean secateurs, closed toe shoes, rain jacket, hat.