Peppermint Garden
One of the things that makes Australia so unique is the fantastic diversity of its flora and the smell of the bushland that makes us all feel at home. The Peppermint Garden showcases a range of aromatic plants where you will discover scented flowers, leaves and bark. This garden is designed to take you on a journey of discovery that will stimulate your imagination, trigger memories, and promote your sense of well-being.
When visiting the Peppermint Garden:
- Take a walk to enjoy the iconic fragrances of our Eucalyptus leaves and Acacia blossoms.
- Perfumed floral parts play an important role in attracting pollinators like insects, birds and mammals.
- Not everyone's sense of smell is the same, what is pleasant to one person may not be to another.
- Leaf aroma and flower fragrance can vary in response to humidity/heat, periods of rain or time of day.
Key Plants
Narrow-leaved Peppermint
Eucalyptus radiata
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Zieria adenophora
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Sparkling Mint Bush
Prostanthera rhombea
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Pinnate Goodenia
Goodenia macmillanii
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Grevillea vestita
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Cinnamon Wattle
Acacia leprosa
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Narrow-leaved Peppermint
<em>Eucalyptus radiata</em>
Leaves strongly aromatic when crushed; first Eucalyptus species to be commercially utilised for oil by Melbourne pharmacist Joseph Bosisto in 1854; source of food for Koalas.
Notes from the Curator
Sturt Gibbs
The benefits of creating a sensory garden at home or work may astound you. Remember some plants need their leaves crushed to smell them. Growing plants with aromatic leaves near pathways or in pots allows them to release the smell when you brush past them. Of plant families in Australia, Myrtaceae, Lamiaceae and Rutaceae have many species with prominent oil glands in their leaves. Many of these Australian plants with aromatic qualities are used commercially to produce essential oils and perfumes. (e.g. Eucalyptus, Teatree, Sandalwood, Lemon-myrtle, Boronia, Prostanthera). Essential oils have been part of our First People's culture for thousands of years, used for food, drinks, medicines and ceremony.