What is the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney famous for?
Written by: Cameron Ward
Published: 03/08/2023
Reading time: 3 mins
The Royal Botanic Gardens is a beautiful, lush garden with a huge collection of plants.
The Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney is famous for being Australia’s oldest botanic garden. The Botanic Garden is also one of the oldest and most important in the Southern Hemisphere. The Botanic Garden opened in 1816, so it’s over 200 years old!
There are many different attractions to see inside the Botanic Garden. Let’s get into some of the highlights you can see when visiting the Garden.
Australian Native Rockery
In this area of the Garden, there are a lot of spring flowering Australian native plants. Here you’ll find plants like Gymea lilies, paper daisies, kangaroo paws, and much more.
Cardi Jam Ora: First Encounters and First Farm
The Garden has a rich Aboriginal heritage, and this is one of the areas to go to see plants that originally grew here. You’ll be able to learn the story of the Gadigal people who are the traditional owners of the land.
HSBC Oriental Garden
If you’re keen on seeing some plants from sub-tropical areas, then this area of the garden is where you want to be! The plants here are from countries like Japan, Vietnam, China, Korea, Bhutan, and Taiwan.
Palm Grove
This area has some of the oldest and finest palm trees here. The trees were once grown from wild plants back in the 1820s and 1850s! As you’re walking through this area, it looks like you’re in summer, but with all the trees the area is rather cool.
What can I do at the Royal Botanic Garden?
The Botanic Garden is a very big area! There’s a lot more to do than see all the colourful plants from Australia and around the world.
Book a tour
You can book a tour and have a tour guide show you around the lush Botanic Garden. Over an hour to an hour and a half walk, you’ll learn about the history and heritage of the area. Or you can do one of the Aboriginal tours where you can learn about the heritage of the Gadigal people.
There is also a bush tucker tour which is where you’ll learn about the traditional and modern day use of the food.
Go shopping or get a bite to eat
The Calyx has it all from a retail shop to workshops and cafes. There is usually some sort of event happening here, so be sure to check it out and book tickets.
Or you can do some shopping at the Palm Grove Centre. Here you’ll find books, seeds, and some honey from the bees in the garden! Near the Palm Grove Centre you’ll find the Botanic House restaurant and the Farm Cove Eatery.
If you plan to make a visit to Australia’s oldest botanic garden, you can get a range of different public transport. You can get a train to Martin Place, St James or Circular Quay and from those stations, it’s a quick walk. You can also get a bus, ferry or if you’re already in the city, you can walk to the garden!
