Northern Daily Leader and Armidale Express
24 November 2025
Gardening guru Ned McDowell and New England Garden Festival founder Lou Forsythe say the botanic garden will complement the existing arboretum.
Ned McDowell is behind the push for the botanic garden and has submitted his plans with Armidale Regional Council.
New England Garden Festival founder Lou Forsythe is helping Mr McDowell achieve his vision for the heritage-listed arboretum in Kentucky Street.
“I’ve had overwhelming support from the community, with many gardeners willing to buy a tree for $90 to plant in the botanic garden,” Mr McDowell told the Leader.
“It would be a community effort, with money coming from grants and for the garden to be sustainable.”
Set on 13 hectares, the botanic garden would form part of the arboretum and develop in three stages, Mr McDowell said.
Retaining walls and landscaping would be built with seed funding, followed by planting and finally, maintenance.
“The botanic garden would have double cherry walks, wisteria arches and a maze from Japanese box that could be seen from the road, attracting visitors to the site,” Mr McDowell said.
Ms Forsythe said the garden would be a year-round visitor attraction, maximising tourism across all four seasons.
“The festival started as a dream and look how that has grown, I am confident Ned’s plan for a botanic garden will develop in a similar way,” Ms Forsythe said.
Crowds have flocked to Sydney’s Royal Botanic Garden to see and smell the viral corpse flower nicknamed ‘Putricia’. Video by AAP
“There would be a significant flow-on benefit to local businesses and the broader regional economy.”
A botanic garden in Armidale was originally mooted in 1988, the year of the Bicentenary, Ms Forsythe said.
Natives currently grow on the site as part of the city’s arboretum and the botanic garden would complement those plantings.
“The garden would draw on the diversity of cold-climate plants here, both native and exotic,” Ms Forsythe said.
A “living classroom” would accommodate students from local schools and the University of New England.
Mr McDowell is well known in Armidale for his horticultural services, having his own radio show and blog, Around the Traps, on his website.
The pair forged a close relationship after a chance encounter 15 years ago in Moree.
Their mothers were in the same retirement village and Mr McDowell and Ms Forsythe met while tending their mothers’ respective gardens.
Mr McDowell helped Ms Forsythe with the garden festival.
“Now it’s my turn to help Ned, he’s a very cluey man and very knowledgeable about New England gardens,” Ms Forsythe said.
