Wittunga Botanic Garden, Botanical garden in Blackwood, Adelaide, South Australia.
Wittunga Botanic Garden covers 14 hectares on the western scarp of the Adelaide Hills, on Shepherds Hill Road in Blackwood. Meandering paths run through the Terrace and Sandplain Gardens, where beds of Erica, Leucadendron and Protea from South Africa's Cape Province stand beside eucalypts and plants from the Fleurieu Peninsula and Kangaroo Island. Two ponds linked by a spillway lie within the grounds.
Edwin Ashby established the garden in 1901 as a formal English garden, while his son Keith later transferred the site to the State. This transition marked a shift from private garden to public botanical collection.
The garden's name comes from "Wittunga", the Ashby family home, and the property stayed in the family until Keith Ashby donated it to the State in 1965. Each March the Lions Club of Blackwood Inc. runs Wittunga Under the Stars, an outdoor concert first held in 2003 with jazz, live music and dance; past acts include the Bearded Gypsy Band, the New Orleans Ramblers and Studio Flamenco dancers.
The garden sits on Shepherds Hill Road in Blackwood, on the western scarp of the Adelaide Hills, and is open to the public throughout the year. Meandering paths run through the Terrace and Sandplain Gardens, and interpretive botanical signage marks the collections. Two ponds linked by a spillway lie within the grounds; in warmer months Murray River turtles bask on the surface or the muddy banks.
The two ponds are linked by a spillway, and in warmer months Murray River turtles can often be seen basking on the surface or on the muddy banks. The ponds also draw Australasian grebes and Eurasian coots alongside Pacific black ducks and Australian wood ducks.
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