Heronswood Gallery of Plant Sex and Seed
The Diggers Trust has created an Heirloom Seed Collection at Heronswood on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. This has in part been inspired by an amazing Museum of Economic Botany at the Adelaide Botanic Garden. That Museum first opened in May 1881 and was the passion of Richard Schomburk, the Botanic Garden's second Director, who personally collected and installed all the original objects.
The aim of this Gallery will be to produce a year round exhibition of Heirloom vegetables and seeds that will tell the story of how our lives depend on seeds. It will enlighten visitors and enthusiastic gardeners about the science, politics and economics of seeds. On display will be lifelike resin models of a large diversity of Diggers Heritage fruits and vegetables such as pumpkins, melons, tomatoes, capsicums, eggplants and cucumbers. The painted models will reflect as closely as possible the accurate size, scale, colour and variations of the actual fruit and vegetables that are grown on the Diggers site. These will provide the same 3D snapshot as Schomburk's papier-mache models done back in 1881.
Clive Blazey is the founder and Executive chairman of the Diggers Club at Heronswood and firmly believes that such a Collection can still have a vast importance in highlighting our dependence on the diversity of the plant world.
The resin models were made by Peter Revelman from Paradoxx Molding and I painted the models using Oil Paints.
The Diggers Trust has created an Heirloom Seed Collection at Heronswood on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. This has in part been inspired by an amazing Museum of Economic Botany at the Adelaide Botanic Garden. That Museum first opened in May 1881 and was the passion of Richard Schomburk, the Botanic Garden's second Director, who personally collected and installed all the original objects.
The aim of this Gallery will be to produce a year round exhibition of Heirloom vegetables and seeds that will tell the story of how our lives depend on seeds. It will enlighten visitors and enthusiastic gardeners about the science, politics and economics of seeds. On display will be lifelike resin models of a large diversity of Diggers Heritage fruits and vegetables such as pumpkins, melons, tomatoes, capsicums, eggplants and cucumbers. The painted models will reflect as closely as possible the accurate size, scale, colour and variations of the actual fruit and vegetables that are grown on the Diggers site. These will provide the same 3D snapshot as Schomburk's papier-mache models done back in 1881.
Clive Blazey is the founder and Executive chairman of the Diggers Club at Heronswood and firmly believes that such a Collection can still have a vast importance in highlighting our dependence on the diversity of the plant world.
The resin models were made by Peter Revelman from Paradoxx Molding and I painted the models using Oil Paints.
Photo Copyright Yanni Photography
Heirloom seeds usually pre-date the 1950s and are open-pollinated, which means that pollination occurs as it does in nature; by bees, wind, insects and birds. The gardener selects the best fruit and saves that seed for next year. Heirlooms are not just edible nostalgia, they have provenance such as any family heirloom that's handed down from generation to generation. They have a history that can be traced and they preserve diversity by safe-guarding varieties.
Many heirloom varieties were preserved by home gardeners who saved seed from their family gardens from year to year and handed them down from generation to generation. Other seeds travelled around the world in the pockets or letters of immigrants, which is why, even though the tomato evolved in Central America, we have varieties from Russia, Italy, Japan, France, Germany and America.
In 1991 Clive and Penny Blazey, founders of The Diggers Club, visited the Seed Savers Exchange in Iowa and began their quest to rescue and preserve heirloom seeds. The Diggers Club introduced heirloom seeds to Australian gardeners in 1993.