Friends' 2011 Christmas Card

Have a Quandong Christmas!

Our festive image this year has a very Christmassy feel, with the red fruits of the Desert Quandong looking just like bright baubles on a Christmas tree. Desert Quandong (Santalum acuminatum) is a hemiparasitic plant in the sandalwood family Santalaceae, and is widely dispersed through the central deserts and southern areas of Australia. It is a large shrub or small tree to about 3 m tall with greyish-green leaves. The clusters of small white flowers are followed by 25 mm diameter fleshy fruits, which turn bright red when ripe. The seed within is protected by a hard shell. It is an important bush food in the drier areas of the country.

This year’s card is available with a Christmas greeting inside or as a blank correspondence card, in packs of 10 for $18 including postage. Packs can be ordered by filling in the merchandise sales form, or email friends@rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au, phone (02) 9231 8182 or fax (02) 9241 3064. Or you can buy them from the Friends’ office for only $15 per pack.

Friends' 2010 Christmas Card

Correa Christmas Cheer

The 2010 Friends of the Botanic Gardens’ Christmas card features Correa reflexa. It has been reproduced from a watercolour by Kate Nolan, who has been a natural history illustrator since 1993 and is completely addicted to the challenge of achieving both art and accuracy in every painting. Kate chose to paint this correa because ‘It struck me as a pretty and quintessentially Australian plant and also a great challenge for an artist: how do you make an elegant artwork out of such a shrubby little plant? I decided you just have to fill the entire page with it!’

The Correa Christmas Card comes in a pack of 10, with Seasons Greetings inside or blank, for just $18 per pack (including postage and handling).  Fill in the merchandise sales form  and email to us, or collect from the Friends' Office for $15 per pack.

Friends' 'Blue Collection' Cards

Inspired by the clear blue flowers of the Himalayan Poppy, which was the signature image for Botanica 2010, Friends has released a new range of merchandise. This stunning mixed pack of 10 cards has five cards of the watercolour painting of Meconopsis horridula, by Tricia Oktober, and five cards featuring the luscious painting  of Iris 'Black Taffeta', by Barbara Duckworth. 

 The Friends of the Botanic Gardens 'Blue Collection' Cards are available in packs of 10 for just $13 including postage by filling in the merchandise sales form, or you can pick them up directly from the Friends’ Office in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and get a special rate of only $10 per pack!

Stenocarpus sinuatus - Firewheel Tree

Friends' 2008 Christmas Card featured a stunning reproduction of Stenocarpus sinuatus, an original watercolour by Angela Lober. The study of landscape architecture and plant and wildlife illustration has brought Angela into close contact with the subjects of her botanical watercolours. Her works have been exhibited in Botanica exhibitions from 2002 to 2008, and are included in the prestigious Shirley Sherwood Collection.

The Firewheel tree, Stenocarpus sinuatus, is native to the warm rainforests of northern New South Wales and Queensland. It is slow growing but can reach up to 35 metres when mature (less in cultivation). Its distinctive flowers appear in summer.

This colourful Christmas card has sold out but is still available as a pack of plain correspondence cards, in packs of 12 for just $13 including postage. They can be ordered by filling out our merchandise sales form.  Or you can pick them up directly from the Friends’ Office in the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney at the special rate of only $10 per pack!

Friends’ Recipe book

Cook up a Storm with Friends’ Well Tested Recipes

One of the delights of attending the many Friends of the Botanic Gardens events and activities in our beautiful Botanic Gardens over the years has been the chance to enjoy the delicious culinary delights served up at events by our catering volunteers. So popular are our caterers’ gastronomic creations that the flood of requests for their recipes has led to the release of this compact edition with a fresh, new look.

The Friends of the Botanic Gardens Volunteers’ Recipe Book was originally compiled in 1997-1998, revised and expanded in September 2003 and now this bumper edition incorporates twenty-four new recipes from our hardworking catering volunteers, and one special recipe contribution from well known cook, Belinda Jeffery. It has been reproduced in a convenient A5 format and is spiral bound so it easily lays flat when you’re baking.  It would make an ideal Christmas or Birthday gift and is very reasonably priced at $20 if you buy from the office, or $23 including postage. Available by mail through the merchandise sales form and at the Friends’ Office.

By purchasing our merchandise you’re helping fund the Friends’ valuable work supporting our world-renowned Gardens in Sydney, Mount Annan and Mount Tomah as well as our National Herbarium of NSW.