Project outcome:

The aim of this project was to develop a public display of Australian Tropical Native Orchids in the Conservatory at Cairns Botanic Gardens. The native orchid flora of tropical Australia is rich and diverse and contains a number of species that are of great importance in horticulture. Unfortunately, many Australian tropical native orchids are not easy to see in the wild. However, many of them are relatively easy to cultivate in Cairns, making a public display of these plants feasible within the botanic gardens. With the kind support of the Australian Orchid Foundation, the gardens was able to purchase a shade house to hold the portion of the collection that is not on display at any given time (eg, non-flowering plants, and rare or sensitive species), as well as signage, plant labels and a range of species and hybrid plants to expand the collection. Additional donations of plants by John Woolf and Ian Morris were also gratefully received and made an important contribution to the collection. The display was installed in the conservatory in February 2020 and has been well-received by visitors. Cairns Botanic Gardens wishes to pass on its sincere thanks to the Australian Orchid Foundation and donors, who made this exciting display possible.