Heide Museum of Modern Art 2010 Annual Report

7. Facilities 7.2 Gardens
26 Heide II Kitchen Garden 2010
Photograph: John Gollings
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7.2 GARDENS
The Millennium Drought has broken.
The weather patterns have reversed
from El Nino to La Niña. Record rains
have certainly helped Heide’s gardens to
flourish, but they have also caused much
damage to pathways that require ongoing
repair for public safety. The Sculpture Park
has experienced minor flooding. For the
first time in many years, Heide II’s Kitchen
Garden was partially inundated with flood
water in mid-summer. Water restrictions
were eased from Stage 3A to 3 in April,
and from Stage 3 to Stage 2 in September,
enabling essential hand-watering and an
increase in automatic irrigation hours.
Several major garden projects were
undertaken in 2010: the restoration of the
Heide II Kitchen Garden, North Walk & Rose
Walk; sustainable landscaping of the area
adjacent to the Tucker Gallery window;
installation of the third Artist’s Garden – the
Mari Funaki Memorial Grove; Federation
Way car-park spoon drain and an upgrade
to the Heide Staff Amenity Area. Many new
indigenous plantings occupy locations
on the property including the Helen
MacPherson Smith Garden adjacent to the
Sidney Myer Education Centre, the Wild
Garden, and the upper car-park entrance
and exit. The previous year’s projects have
also been consolidated, particularly the
Heide I Vegetable Garden Redevelopment,
with the addition – through the agency of
Café Vue at Heide – of part-time gardeners
to service the Heide I vegetable garden &
orchards, providing produce for the café’s
garden-to-plate ambitions.
27 Heide II Kitchen Garden 2010
Photograph: John Gollings
Heide Museum of Modern Art
2010 Annual Report
Heide garden staff continue to deliver
popular public programs and bespoke
tours for special interest groups, while
also maintaining Sustainable Gardening
Australia accreditation. Our partnership
with Conservation Volunteers Australia
was temporarily halted in September, due
to non-renewal of their national contract
with their associated job broking network.
Recovery Tree Services’ arboreal work and
Programmed Property Services’ mowing
of the Sculpture Park continue to improve
and maintain Heide’s valuable assets.
In 2010 Heide Gardens received significant
financial support from the Marjory
Kingston Bequest. This three-year
funding commitment will underwrite the
employment and professional development
of a young horticulturalist and gardener.
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