Flora at Mt Hart.
For students of flora, the gardens and bush surrounding the Mt Hart Homestead provide a wealth of fascinating Northern Australian and exotic tropical plants.
The original homestead gardens were laid out in the early 1960s by Charlie Telford and his employees, incorporating a truckload of plants brought up from Adelaide in forty-four gallon drums. Subsequent owners have since made their mark on the gardens, planting, amongst other exotics; Mussaendas, Acalyphas, Hibiscus, The South African Sausage Tree, African Tulip Tree, and a marvellous array of tropical fruit trees.
Over the last 18 years Taffy has extended the original gardens surrounding the old homestead, to create a 10 acre tropical oasis resembling a lush rainforest. The garden now includes a colourful and diverse mixture of plant species such as; Heliconias, Gingers including Darwin Dream, Vanilla beans, Galphimia glauca, Mussaena - "Capricorn Dream", Crotons including Love Crotons, Cordylines, Bismarkia Nobilis palms, Travellers' palms, Cycads, Hibiscus "Rose Flame", Hibiscus "Monique maria", Cleradendron, Licuala grandis (a fan palm), Hemigraphos - a ground cover, Dianella species, and New Zealand flax.
Click here for pictures of the garden at Mt Hart.
