Every year the British Museum turns one of its front lawns into a recreation of a landscape from a different country- this year it was Australia- and ties in with an exhibition within the museum and is made in collaboration with Kew Gardens. In the past few years they have done China, South Africa and India.
I first visited the garden back in early May- where we had had some blustery cold weather so the garden really wasnt looking its best- but upon a return visit in late August really showed the plants surviving remarkably well the temps of a pretty awful British summer!
The grass trees always hold a soft spot for me as I have one myself that lives in a friends garden while I am currently garden-less! and these 2 below looked beautiful. I have to say a couple looked very worse for wear- but Xanthorrhoea are notorious for coming into this country with no roots at all- and then slowly dying. Indeed my X.glauca arrived with only 2 roots! But slowly regrew over time- but i know of many others that simply dont survive. These 2 below are probably over a hundred years old- which i believe makes looking after them something of a responsibility. They are all imported with a liscence to show they have been taken legally from teh wild from where the land had to be cleared- and would have otherwise been destroyed. And also luckily for me have proven to be hardy - especially with the winters we have been having recently.
My lovely Blue Grass Tree (X. glauca)
Me at the South African Garden @ The British Museum last year
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