A Passion for Banksia

Kevin Collins has pursued his passion for Banksias for 25 years, developing Banksia Farm at Mount Barker in Western Australia where all known species are grown. Banksia Farm includes the Joseph Banks Fine Arts Gallery and Café, a specialty plant nursery and a seed product centre. This month Kevin and his wife, Kathy, made a special trip to Rainbow, CA to share their passion and knowledge about Banksias with us.  It was an interesting afternoon which began right in the Banksia fields where Kevin taught us about propagation, cultivation, disease control, pruning and harvesting these wonderful Australian native plants. 

Later that evening, the California Protea Association hosted a dinner and lecture, where Kevin and Kathy shared their experiences growing Banksias on their farm in Western Australian.  In addition, the Collin’s recently co-authored a new book called “Banksias” which brings together the best current knowledge concerning all 78 known species of Banksia.  Our thanks to Kevin and Kathy for traveling to California and sharing their passion for Banksia with all of us!  Stay tuned – we’ll share more details about the "Banksia" book in our next blog.