Are We Greening the Future While Letting Our Gardens Die?

An In-Depth Talk by Robert Wilson, One of Queensland’s Leading Horticulturists

Across Queensland, two quiet tragedies are unfolding.

Our oldest public gardens, once proud symbols of civic vision and horticultural excellence are being stripped of identity. Once curated with care and purpose, they are now neglected, their plantings compromised, their curators silenced, and their legacy buried beneath event infrastructure and bureaucratic priorities.

At the same time, governments and councils rush to meet carbon targets and “green city” goals. They are planting more trees yet failing to care for the landscapes we already have. New parks are created without horticultural input, lacking vision, stewardship, and story. These spaces drift along, reactive and hollow, managed as if horticulture is just decoration.

In both cases, we’re left with green spaces that look the part but are hollow. No trained horticulturists are guiding their future, no purpose underpins their planting, and no legacy is being cultivated. They’re maintained for optics, not meaning.

In this powerful and timely discussion, Robert confronts the quiet erasure of horticulture from our public realm. Drawing on examples from around the world, he explores the different types of public gardens, from botanical and memorial gardens to community and spectacle spaces and the unique roles they play. He highlights the growing disconnect between policy and practice, and the consequences of managing these spaces without horticultural expertise.

Robert asks:

Why are our gardens governed without gardeners?
Why are living plant collections being downgraded for short-term spectacle?
And why do we keep demanding legacy without investing in those who create it?

This talk is both a warning and a call to action for anyone who believes public gardens should be more than just green space. They should be places of purpose, knowledge, and enduring beauty. If we want real gardens that mean something not just green spaces that tick boxes, we must rethink how they’re led, what they’re for, and who we trust to shape their future.