For renowned horticulturalist, Jac Semmler of Super Bloom, nature has always been part of her connection to Abbotsford Convent.
Long before she collaborated with the precinct through her plant practice, she remembers visiting and thinking it was a place filled with possibility, creativity and community.
Today, that connection has deepened through creating a meadow planting at the Convent entrance, which blooms through spring and summer with thousands of wild flowers. It’s a simple but powerful intervention designed to welcome people in and encourage them to pause.
“It’s a real lo-fi wonder,” Jac says. “Using minimal resources to create a moment where people can enjoy the planting as they enter and feel welcome.”
In a city that moves quickly, spaces that invite stillness are rare. For Jac, the Convent’s gardens and grounds offer an opportunity to reconnect with nature in the middle of urban life.
One of her favourite places on the site is the majestic eucalyptus tree standing at the entrance to the grounds. It’s a tree more than 300 years old, older than the Convent itself, which was established in 1863.
“It greets everybody as they enter,” she says. “It’s been here for so long before the Convent came to be. It represents the layers of history held within this place, connecting past and future in a living form.”
The historic gardens, open spaces and landscapes of Abbotsford Convent are more than beautiful places to gather. They provide habitat, support biodiversity and create moments of connection for the thousands of people who visit each year.
Freely accessible seven days a week, these green spaces remain a vital community resource.
Places like this cannot be taken for granted. By supporting Abbotsford Convent’s giving appeal, you help care for the landscapes, gardens and green spaces that make this place so special, ensuring future generations can continue to find moments of connection and wonder among them.