Dave Blumer

Conservation Garden

Few people - even residents of Western Australia - will ever have the opportunity to see our State's endangered plants growing in the wild.

The Conservation Garden is a vital Living Collection from across Western Australia. The Kings Park Horticulture and Science teams work together to curate plant species that are threatened in their natural habitat. Some flora species on display have been brought back from the brink of extinction!

The 4600 square metre garden holds approximately 400 species in a gently undulating landscape complete with a billabong and swales - depressions which become moist or even swampy following winter rainfall. On a walk through the garden you will traverse different types of country; granite outcrops, sandplains, and winter wet depressions. Discover the unique flora of the Kimberley and Pilbara, and see some of our State’s most at-risk flora in the critically endangered bed.

Some spectacular favourites are represented such as species of Banksia, Darwinia, Eremophila, Grevillea and Verticordia.

This collection not only conserves threatened populations but serves as an opportunity for visitors to learn. Interpretive signage explains why certain species in the Conservation Garden are threatened, as well as the successes of the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority in pulling some plants back from the brink of extinction. The innovative techniques range from DNA analysis to tissue culture.

The Kings Park team acknowledges the vital contribution made by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, which collects the seeds of rare and endangered species in the wild and arranges translocation of plants when necessary.

The Conservation Garden is a visual consolidation of the essential and substantial work the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority undertakes to preserve Western Australia's precious biodiversity.

Conservation garden with path and signage

Plan your visit

Transport

Getting here

Park at Forrest Carpark for a short walk to this garden

Best viewed

Looks good year-round, but explodes into flower in spring and early summer

Out in the wild

Depending on which species you are hoping to spot, these unique specimens of endangered flora can be seen all over WA with a keen eye.

Accessibility

Accessible via main paths

Navigate in Kings Park

Look out for...

Silky Eremophila

Eremophila nivea

With attractive soft, silvery-grey foliage and pale purple-violet flowers appearing from late winter to mid spring, Eremophila nivea is fabulous for its foliage and flower power in the native garden.

Notes from the curator

Joanne Blackburn

I have been working in the Conservation Garden for the last five years, with a keen interest in creating garden beds that provide habitat for wildlife in our urban spaces. As you meander through the paths in the Conservation Garden, you can expect to see many small bird species among the mid-storey level eucalyptus trees, from New Holland honey eaters to spotted pardalotes and grey fairy wrens. With some careful and patient observation, you will be lucky to spot the blue banded bees amongst many seasonal flowering plants throughout the garden.

Sometimes working with species that we’ve never planted in the gardens can be quite tricky; knowing their water requirements, when to prune them and how much, and managing to collect seed and cuttings from them at the right time of year. It can be especially hard to grow on some species that have come from different regions of Western Australia in the gardens in our Perth climate and soil.

Plant species in these beds can be difficult to find in commercial nurseries. But there are a few exceptions, such as Eremophila nivea (Silky Eremophila), which is threatened in the wild but is a very popular garden plant, due to its soft silvery foliage, violet flowers and hardiness.

Verticordia Garden

Northern Sandplains Garden

Chamelaucium and Anigozanthos Garden

Banksia menziesii is commonly known as the Firewood Banksia

Banksia Garden

Grevillea and Hakea Garden

Acacia Garden

The Backyard Botanicals bed is located at May Drive Parkland, outside Zamia Cafe