A HERITAGE cacti garden will be opened to the public for the first time since 1985 today as part of Open Gardens Australia.The White Hills property has had a long history of gardening since the first seeds were planted by Tom Dawson and Justin Gill in 1929.The garden’s current owners, John Martin and Lisa Burge, said about 400 species would be on display, including a number of mystery varieties.“Tom (Dawson) travelled the world, sourcing many of the original seeds himself from South America, Africa and England,” Mr Martin said.“There would have been up to 2000 species at one point. Because they were brought out here in the 30s, very few can be named.“There was an inventory taken in the 1960s; we’re now looking to track down those records.”Mr Martin and Ms Burge bought the property upon Mr Dawson’s death in 1990.“When Tom and Justin established the garden it was used as a quarantine station for cacti and succulent plants imported into Australia,” Mr Martin said.“It was turned into a commercial nursery in 1938 and at its peak housed 2000 cacti and succulent varieties.”Mr Martin now hopes to restore the garden to its former glory, reopening the site as a nursery under its original name Dawson and Gill.“It has had some hard times,” he said. “Some plants have been stolen over the years.‘‘In one instance the thieves were pulled over by police for a licence check and the cactus plants were sitting on the back seat. They were returned to the garden and have since doubled in size.”Mr Martin said some of the more established cacti had grown 20 to 30 feet high and could weigh up to five tonnes.“We do have a lot of rare species here, ones you can’t go to a normal nursery and buy,” he said.“Over the weekend seeds collected from these plants will be on sale. A lot of people say they have driven past this place for years and always been curious. “It will be exciting to finally open it up for them... even if they don’t want to buy they are welcome to have a look.”Not-for-profit organisation Open Gardens Australia each year unveils private gardens across Australia to promote the knowledge and pleasure of gardening.Entry today is $6 and the cacti gardens will open as a nursery on Monday.