Monash Council has helped honour and remember Australians who have given their lives in wartime service with a significant garden bed planting effort in Clayton inspired by an iconic wartime picture.
Our Gardens and Nursery Team has been working with the Clayton RSL to carry-out new plantings that bring to life a famous picture of an Australian Light Horseman collecting poppy anemones in Palestine during World War 1.
After Council had worked with the Clayton RSL to establish the new cenotaph in Carinish Road, John Saunders, a previous Secretary of the Clayton RSL, made us aware of the famous picture.
He enquired as to whether we could source these plants to make a display in the new Cenotaph area.
An Australian Light Horseman collecting anemones near Belah in Palestine (War Memorial Canberra).
After searching for the right plant in the right numbers, Council planted 5000 Anemone coronaria, the poppy anemone, in the garden beds that lead from the Lone Pine and Remembrance Stone up to the Cenotaph.
These new anemones will complement our existing display of Flanders Poppies, the more famous symbols of remembrance.
The newly planted anemones are still flowering, just in time for Remembrance Day ceremonies on 11 November. They put on a particularly beautiful display in early October and we will be looking to plant more next year and strengthen our planting of this historically important plant.
Remembrance Day Ceremonies 2026
Shire of Mulgrave Honour Roll Cenotaph, 293 Springvale Road, Glen Waverley 3150
