Since 1997 the collection of Australian plants has expanded considerably, possibly being the largest in Europe now. At the moment there are around 900 different species of Australian native plants, from some 100 genera and 28 plant families. Most plants belong to the Proteaceae and the Myrtaceae however.
Apart from these plants Merrigum houses a beautiful arboretum with a splendid pond in addition to an ornamental garden, orchard and vegie patch.
Meaning of Merrigum
Merrigum is an Aboriginal word meaning ‘small plain’. This refers to our 0.8 hectare property. On the other hand, Merrigum sounds like ‘Merry Gum’: merry gumtree. Gumtree is the common word for an Australian plant species that we grow a lot too: the Eucalyptus.
History
By the end of 1999 we moved to the current location in Neer. It used to be a dairy farm with pastures and two cowsheds: these sheds have been turned into glasshouses of which the largest, 240m2, has been transformed into a miniature Australian Bush land. The pastures were turned into arboretum, orchard and ornamental gardens. The recycling of material adds to the unique character of Merrigum.
In the media
