Tree Talks: Rooted Histories

*Clarification [03:54]: Plant matter in general dates back four hundred to five hundred million years, not water lilies specifically. In celebration of the Lunuganga gardens 75th anniversary, Tree Talks podcast explores the lives of flora and ecosystems within the gardens. Bought on the eve of independence in 1948, Lunuganga is Geoffrey Bawa’s first and longest running architectural endeavour, join us as we unravel the intricacies of this living archive. This episode is a walk through Lunuganga on a cool January day with Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, naturalist, photographer and author of 'A Naturalist Guide to the Trees of Sri Lanka'. Gehan uncovers the intricacies of Lunuganga's flora and the fauna that flourish in its embrace as he reflects on the histories and migrations of select trees along the path and the influence of humans on globalised horticulture. This episode follows a path from the Reading Room to the Field of Jars passing by the Jackfruit, Bilin, Mahogany, Mango, Araliya, Na, Fishtail Palm and Hora trees. A map with the sites and sounds of this episode along with other resources are available on our websites. To Lunuganga: https://lunuganga.garden/Tree-Talks-EP01-Rooted-Histories Geoffrey Bawa Trust: geoffreybawa.com/tree-talks Special thanks to Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne for his expertise and animated exploration of Lunuganga and Shamin De Silva for editing and sound design in this episode.