Guilfoyle's Volcano

Not a literal volcano; there are 250 different species of plants growing around the landscape.

Agave geminiflora Agavaceae

http://rbgworkingwetlands.wordpress.com/stage-1-guilfoyles-volcano/

Bromeliads

Design plan

William Robert Guilfoyle Biography: 

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/guilfoyle-william-robert-3678

Location: Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, Gate C - between Guilfoyle Lawn and Eucalypt Lawn.

"Guilfoyle's original design had green lawns flowing out from the volcano rim like lava moving towards Nyphphaea Lake. But a re-interpretation, 'lava' flows as multi-coloured plants and mulches.

...Red and orange flowers and foliage, unusual mulches of crushed bricks, terracotta tiles, and coloured pavement... basalt boulders are scattered as if expelled by a violent volcanic explosion". - RBG Factsheet

"...Built in 1876 by the second director of the gardens, William Guilfoyle, the volcano - part folly, part reservoir...

The second coming of Guilfoyle's vision has taken three years from planning to construction. In an artistic display, large boulders from Port Fairy and smaller rocks and stones have been strategically placed around and down the cone to simulate debris spewed from a volcanic eruption. Red stones planted with flat succulents course down the sides, simulating lava flows.

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The volcano's bluestone-lined crater, now full of water, is home to floating islands, reminiscent of giant lily pads, with native and indigenous plants and water filtration systems that will eventually connect to a wider irrigation project.

A timber boardwalk winds around and down the cone, with its spectacular vistas of the city and surrounding gardens, and rusted steel handrails imitate reeds around a pond.

Two meeting places have been designed in the lower gardens under canopies of Queensland bottle trees and silk floss trees.

The design was created by resident landscape architect Andrew Laidlaw. The last steps in this historic botanic journey were the plantings.

Cacti and succulents in all shapes and sizes, with native plant material for a softer texture, dominate the landscape..."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/botanic-gardens-volcano-gets-ready-to-rumble-20100329-r8b2.html#ixzz1xAHIIVnT