The Banksia Festival at Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, held from 16 to 24 August 2025, celebrated Australian culture through the iconic Banksia genus.
Presented by the Cranbourne Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, the week-long event featured presentations, walking tours, and workshops focusing on botany and botanical art.
An exhibition showcased cultural interpretations of Banksias in various art forms, including paintings, literature, glasswork, and floral art.
The festival also offered a plant sale with over 600 Banksia plants and related artworks, along with exclusive tours of the Gardens’ Special Collections.
Event Convenor Mick Robertson from the Cranbourne Friends said the festival went really well.
He said it’s difficult to estimate the traffic, but they sold more than 300 tickets and raised “plenty of funds” for the gardens.
”The opening day was pretty good,” he said.
“We had three speakers and plenty of people in the room, and great discussions. It had a nice vibe.”
Mick said it had been a while since the last festival that was named after a plant.
“We chose Banksia because they’re a very dramatic plant species. And the Botanic Gardens Cranbourne has a number of people who have a lot of work history with Banksia,” he said.
“Carolyn Landon has written a book on the Banksia lady. Trevor Blake was the leader of the Banksia Study Group. And Celia Rossa is a local, and she’s done lots of fabulous paintings and botanical artwork.”
