If you are visiting Melbourne and are interested in gardens, the Melbourne Botanic Gardens are a must.
You can walk to the gardens from the CBD in under 1/2 an hour or catch a tram or taxi.
The gardens are wheelchair accessible and you can book tours on the website. Features include Guilfoyle’s Volcano, The Childrens Garden, Rose Garden, Aboriginal Heritage walk and the lake where you can take a punting boat tour.
Entry is free, the gardens have a cafe and toilet facilities, dogs are allowed on leash.
Access Details
Located in Birdwood Avenue,Melbourne
Open from 7.30am to sunset every day of the year
Links of Interest
Botanical Gardens WebSite https://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/
Tim Entwisle Blog https://twitter.com/TimEntwisle
A little history
The Melbourne Botanic Gardens were established in 1846 with John Arther and John Dallachy being the first curators and Ferdinand von Mueller was in 1857 appointed the first director.
William Guilfoyle was appointed director in 1873 and is credited as the architect of the gardens as we see them today.
In 1958 they became the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, a title bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II.
The gardens are set on 36 hectares and with a large collection of both exotic and native plants attracts nearly 2 million visitors each year.
The garden has seen many improvement and restoration in recent years with the re development of Guilfoyles Volcano in 2010 being a popular attraction.
Entrance is free and with many events occurring in the gardens each year it is today an international drawcard.
The gardens are wonderful place to explore a huge range of plants, escape the bustle of the city or to have a picnic.
Melbourne is home to two other Botanic Gardens, The Cranbourne Botanic gardens which focuses solely on Australian Native Plants, and the recently re – named Dandenong Ranges Botanical Garden previously the National Rhododendron Gardens.