The Australian National Botanic Gardens has marked its 50th year by adding a new garden dedicated to an Australian floral icon, the banksia.
The new banksia garden, officially opened on Wednesday, hosts more than 70 different types of banksias from around Australia.
Weird and wonderful species have been collected from the Nullarbor in South and Western Australia, from the east coast of the country and even the Top End.
Curator of living collections David Taylor said several pioneering techniques had been used to keep various species alive in the Canberra climate.
The banksia dentata collected from tropical Kakadu National Park has been planted in pipes, essentially very large pots with wheels.
"In the winter once we get our minus sevens and eight and so on we can wheel it under shelter so it's protected from the heavy frost and that way we can still have it as a display," Mr Taylor said.
Meanwhile, the Western Australian species are very susceptible to root rotting diseases. To combat this, the drainage was completely reworked and huge mounds of sandstone was installed to stop these special needs species from getting wet feet.
"The other really new and pioneering area is we've started grafting quite a few of the Western Australian species on to eastern Australian rootstocks and we know that a lot of those eastern species are quite tolerant of the soils and so on that we have in Canberra."
A dry stone wall installed in the new garden is designed to reflect light and warmth from the winter sun to keep the banksias alive during the coldest months.
Australian National Botanic Gardens staff have been working on the garden for two years, meaning some of the shrubs and trees have had time to get established.
The garden will also showcase the story of banksias with a fire pit to be used to demonstrate how banksias release their seeds during bushfires.
The new garden was officially opened by the Environment Minister Sussan Ley.
In a year when the gardens have enjoyed renewed visitation as Canberrans rediscover their own city, the new banksia garden is expected to be another drawcard.
"It's been a challenging year and now it's really wonderful to be able to finally open a new garden, and the Banksia Garden is a garden where people will see the unexpected," Mr Taylor said.
"There's some really weird and wonderful species that you rarely see on this side of the country. So it's a great opportunity for people to come and visit and see something different."
