Spot where Nick Cave planted a lime tree

On 20 December 2014, Nick Cave planted a lime tree at Picnic Point beside the Ornamental Lake in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne — the 103rd commemorative tree planting in the Gardens' history, and the first in over a century not to involve a governor-general, governor, or member of the royal family. Cave was chosen as the first recipient of a reinvented program that aimed to honour significant contributors to Melbourne's cultural life.

The choice of tree was deliberately meaningful. Cave's 1997 song 'Lime Tree Arbour' — one of his most quietly devastating — contains the lyric: 'I put my hand over hers, down in the lime tree arbour.' The specific variety chosen was a Tilia henryana, known as Henry's Lime, a nod to Cave's 1992 album Henry's Dream. The layering of references was exactly the kind of considered, literary gesture that characterises Cave's relationship with his own work and the world around it.

The tree still grows in the Royal Botanic Gardens today, accessible to visitors exploring the grounds. A small plaque marks the planting. The Gardens are open daily and entry is free — the lime tree is near the Ornamental Lake, a short walk from the main Birdwood Avenue entrance.