A Joseph Banks Garden at Chester Zoo

Educational buildings named after Sir Joseph Banks, provided an ideal opportunity to plant up the exterior beds with plants associated with the great botanist.

A number of buildings and meeting rooms at Chester Zoo have been named after famous naturalists and explorers. So, when I was able to persuade the Director to name one of the Educational buildings in the Zoo after Sir Joseph Banks, it gave me the ideal opportunity to plant up the exterior beds with plants associated with the great botanist. I actually found it very difficult researching a suitable list of plants for the garden. I found various references and snippets of information and gradually pieced together a group of plants that I thought would be hardy enough in the North West of England. They are species (although not the cultivars of course) that were either collected or named by him, or named after him. The majority are from Australia and New Zealand and were planted out in summer 2006. Of the 32 taxa planted, most survived last year’s mild winter, with the exception of Callistemon viminalis, Brachyglottis repanda, Astelia banksii and Corynocarpus laevigata. More-severe winters may test the hardiness of some of the other taxa.

I would be interested to know whether anyone else has ever researched and planted a garden associated with Joseph Banks and whether they can recommend some good reference material on the subject. The full plant list is as follows, and I also include a short biography for those who are not so familiar with his exploits.

Astelia banksii
Banksia integrifolia
Banksia marginata
Berberis buxifolia
Brachyglottis repanda
Callistemon ‘Captain Cook’
Callistemon ‘Little John’
Callistemon viminalis
Clianthus puniceus
Coprosma lucida
Corynocarpus laevigatus
Dianella caerulea
Dianella nigra
Eriobotrya japonica
Grevillea ‘Canberra Gem’
Hydrangea ‘Joseph Banks’
Leptospermum scoparium
Leptospermum scoparium ‘Boscawenii’
Leptospermum scoparium ‘Kiwi’
Libertia grandiflora
Olearia paniculata
Pernettya mucronata ‘Bells Seedling’
Phormium tenax
Pittosporum tenuifolium
Pseudopanax arboreus
Pseudopanax crassifolius
Pseudopanax lessonii
Rosa banksiae
Rosa bankssiae ‘Lutea’
Sophora microphylla
Sophora tetraptera
Viola hederacea

Joseph Banks (1743–1820)

Banks came from a privileged background, attending Eton and later Oxford University where he studied Botany. At the age of 21, he inherited his family estate and this enabled him to pursue his interest in botanical scientific discovery.

In 1768, aged 25, he set sail with Captain James Cook on the epic 3-year voyage which culminated in the discovery of Australia. The ship Endeavour measured only 32 m long by 9 m wide, and was home to the 94 crew members, nine of whom were Banks’ team. They sailed via South America and Cape Horn, stopping off in Tahiti, before reaching New Zealand.

They spent the next 6 months circumnavigating the two main islands, during which time Banks collected 360 plant species. They then set off north, where, on 17 April 1770, they sighted Australia, eventually landing at Botany Bay. After many adventures, one of which involved the near sinking of the ship, Banks collected a further 331 plants. They had been away from England for 2 years and it was time to return home. When they docked in England on 10 July 1771, only 52 of the original 94 crew members had survived. The trip resulted in the collection of 1300 new plant species.

Banks went on to set up Kew Gardens, where he was appointed its first Director. He also held the post of President of the Royal Society for 42 years, until his death in 1820.

Mark Sparrow, Curator of Horticulture, Chester Zoo