Enjoy a Tasmanian delight

We're told that Tasmania is just like home. It is and it isn't. It is because some natives, such as tree ferns, are similar to ours and many introduced plants do as well in Tasmania as in Otago and Southland.

Tasmania differs, though, because the climate, especially in the north, is milder than ours.

The milder climate means that at Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden, near Burnie, in the north, vireyas, too tender for most of Otago and Southland, remind the Kiwi visitor of the difference, as does the use of Tasmanian natives, with wattles, eucalypts and tree ferns providing a background for the rhododendrons and shelter for smaller plants on the 13ha site.

Started in 1985 by local members of the Australian Rhododendron Society, Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden has evolved from a wilderness, "covered in blackberries", says Beris Medwin, who regularly undertakes tea duty at the centre.

Most of the clearance work was done by volunteers and now the rich volcanic soil on slopes above a central lake feature rhododendrons of almost every imaginable variety, from fine little deciduous azaleas to huge-leaved loderis.

Arranged by country of origin, species are complemented by other plants from each geographical area, so the Japanese rhododendrons, for example, share space with flowering cherries, maples, magnolias and conifers.

"Vireyas are great for us here because they don't know what season it is and flower all year round," Emu Valley garden committee member and former society president Frank Medwin says.

Being relatively frost-free is a bonus, too, for clivias, which grow well under the large eucalypts retained when the site was developed.

In total, more than 20,000 plants have been put in. Many of the rhododendrons are hybrids, but that is changing as the garden evolves, Frank explains.

"We're concentrating now on species and want seed collected in the wild," he says.

That takes time, as rhododendrons grown from seed obtained from the American Seed Exchange, and sown at Emu Valley, take at least five years to flower.

Well-maintained paths make it easy to stroll around and signboards give helpful information about the rhododendrons in each area. Trees and shrubs planted in geographical areas are well labelled and more name labels for the rhododendrons are planned.

Hopefully, where hybrids are retained, this will highlight the work of Australian rhododendron breeders, including Tasmanian hybridisers.

Native birds, a platypus or two and echidnas have made the valley their home but even without the wildlife, Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden is a lovely spot to visit, enjoy a picnic - or a cuppa and a slice of Beris Medwin's superb cream sponge in the tearooms - and appreciate what a group of devoted volunteers can do.

• See it
Emu Valley Rhododendron Garden, Breffny Rd, Romaine, is 8km from the centre of Burnie, north Tasmania. The garden is open from the beginning of August until the end of April, between 9am and 5pm daily. Admission is $A8 ($NZ10.40) per adult.