IN MEMORY / Cedric Bryant (July 10, 1939 – October 4, 2021)

Fellow “CityNews” columnist PAUL COSTIGAN offers some personal memories on the passing of our long-time gardening writer Cedric Bryant… 

TO the readers of Cedric Bryant’s garden writings for the last 30 years, the sad news is that we have lost one of Canberra’s horticultural and garden icons. 

Cedric William George Bryant passed away on Monday, October 4. Recently, “CityNews” had announced his retirement from the role of garden writer. 

Following his death and because of covid, his family restricted gatherings and public announcements to those close to family – until now.

I will miss Cedric as we had formed an irregular coffee club of two to discuss the obvious problems with horticulture, greenery, gardens and biodiversity under the present ACT governments, as well as many related and unrelated matters. 

He was a gem – a very lovable, knowledgeable and caring character.

Having been a garden writer for 30 years, with the last decade with “CityNews”, Cedric possessed an amazing trove of information that I could access whenever I was writing outside my comfort zones on topics that were his everyday life. 

There were many times after we had met that something from his vast archive would appear in my letterbox.

My last time with Cedric was when I sat with him in his garden. It was a beautiful day and he was buoyant even though the news for him was that there was not much time left. 

Two days later the city went into lockdown, so more visits were not on.

With champions such as Cedric there is often a partner who has shared the journey. That would be his wife Gerdina, who was there working hard with Cedric when they established their Yass nursery and started the business in Canberra. 

Among her many achievements within horticulture and her own profession, Gerdina was the herb specialist at their Yass nursery. I would like to acknowledge her enormous loss and recognise her part in Cedric’s life. 

I have not listed Cedric’s biography as it is covered in an interview recorded by the Garden History Society. 

It was a couple of days after his death that while working on something in my garden, that the thought crossed my mind, what would Cedric say about this over-engineered structure in front of me. 

That question remains unanswered although I can imagine what it would be. On behalf of many in Canberra, thank you Cedric for the time together as well as the generous assistance with so many questions. Cedric Bryant, we are already missing you.

A green legacy that will live on

“CityNews” editor IAN MEIKLE reminisces about the generous character of his gardening writer.

I’D never give him my address. He asked, but I wouldn’t tell. Like he wouldn’t tell me his middle names (it took Paul Costigan’s piece to discover they are William George).

He often offered to come around and give me some gardening advice (“for free, Ian”), but – not that the garden’s a mess – I was in awe of his horticultural knowledge and fearful my little patch of dirt wasn’t up to scratch. I’d never hear the end of it!

He filed his tireless gardening column and two photos conscientiously on time, usually weeks in advance, which always makes the editor happy. 

I’ve mostly edited his copy for the past 10 years and, like osmosis, I have absorbed gardening tips and techniques. His voice rings in my head when I tell people not to plant tomato plants before Melbourne Cup day for fear of late frosts in Canberra. I would always preface it with, “Cedric says…”

You never needed to say his surname, everyone knows Cedric, because he’s probably the only Cedric they’ve ever known.

History isn’t littered with Cedrics (which is of Celtic origin meaning “bounty”). And apart from the Japanese Nissan sedan curiously named “Cedric”, Mr Bryant was my only one. 

He would often breeze chattily through the office to pick up copies of “CityNews” to take to whatever gardening club or service club talk he was giving. He was generous with his time and his knowledge, and the community was all the richer for it.

He was also a regular letter writer to the editor. The choice of trees on Northbourne Avenue worried him greatly as did speeding cars through school limits. He hated the small blocks in new developments, decrying the lack of space to grow a tree or for kids to kick a ball. 

So our paper and our community is the poorer for his sudden passing (from a cruel, though short battle with a brain tumour), but Canberra is so much richer for his being here. 

Apart from the many gardens he professionally designed and planted, there are thousands and thousands of front and back yards around the city that will continue to bear witness and echo his good advice and practical tips for many decades to come. A wonderful green legacy that will live on. 

And don’t plant those tomatoes just yet. Cedric told me.