Leave this garden bed and the Flame Tree and walk south across the lawn to find a Water Gum or Kanuka (Tristaniopsis laurina). Water Gums are found naturally growing along water courses in subtropical and warm temperate rainforests from Easter, Victoria to Queensland. It is a handsome tree that produces clusters of bright yellow flowers in the spring and in cultivation it copes well with the cold , medium frosts, wet soil, low fertility and full sun.
"Hi, I’m Wilfred, Wilfred the Water Gum but my full name is Tristaniopsis laurina. Everyone thinks that just because I’m a water gum means I love water, but I have a secret. I am afraid of water."
Transcript
The Water Gum tree: "Hi, I’m Wilfred, Wilfred the Water Gum but my full name is Tristaniopsis laurina. Everyone thinks that just because I’m a water gum means I love water, but I have a secret. I am afraid of water. Look, I know it sounds crazy but hear me out.
It was a gloomy day, and the rain was coming down in heavy draughts. That day I was just a seed, the weather was so terrible it uprooted my mother sending her falling into the depths of the river beside us. As she fell, I got flung off her branches, landing in the damp soil of the Botanical Gardens. Ever since that fateful day I’ve tried to forget the horrors but every time it rains, I get the same gut wrenching feeling in my roots.
Now, you have got to promise not to tell anyone, especially not the BWA. All they’ll do is give me pity and gifts, like they do to Mr Byuna. I just don’t want to be the next pity case. If you could go to the shops and get me a raincoat, that would be so, so helpful."
