Gardens of Melbourne Private Day Tour

Melbourne, known as the Garden State, has numerous lovely and historical gardens near to the city centre. Beautiful at any time of year, Melbourne’s beautiful gardens shine brightest in the fall (March to May) and spring (September to November).

Melbourne’s Historic Gardens: Timeless Beauty

For almost 170 years, Melbourne’s cultural life has revolved on the Royal Botanic Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens. They are also valuable resources in education, conservation, science, and gardening. The Melbourne Gardens are home to Victoria’s National Herbarium, which contains the globally significant State Botanical Collection.

Rippon Lea and Como House and Garden are from a bygone age and represent some of the few surviving examples of a great estate.

A day spent in Melbourne’s gardens will leave you feeling relaxed and eager to explore more!

For more than 170 years, the Royal Botanic Gardens has been an important element of Melbourne’s cultural life, cherished by generations of Victorians as well as many tourists from across the country and abroad. It is a beautiful recreational area as well as a valuable resource for education, conservation, research, and gardening. Melbourne Gardens covers 38 hectares and houses a collection of over 8,500 plant species from all over the world, including amazing and diverse plant collections featuring camellias, rainforest flora, cacti and succulents, roses, Californian species, herbs, perennials, cycads, plants from Southern China, and plants from south-eastern Australia in the Rare and Threatened Species Collection.

Melbourne Gardens also contains Victoria’s National Herbarium, which holds the globally significant State Botanical Collection and conducts major scientific research in botany, taxonomy, mycology, and conservation.

Fitzroy Gardens is one of Melbourne’s most historic and picturesque gardens. Originally established as a reserve in 1848, the layout follows a traditional Victorian-era design, with walkways lined with majestic Elm trees, as well as a variety of flowers, decorative shrubs, and trees that, combined with wide lawns, form a diversified and layered environment. The stunning floral arrangements in the Spanish mission-style Conservatory are particularly noteworthy. Cooks Cottage, a scarred tree, the Fairy Tree, a model Tudor hamlet, sculptures, fountains, and a stormwater treatment and reuse system.

Carlton Gardens – The beautiful Royal show Building, erected for the 1880 show, stands out in these city gardens, surrounded by mature deciduous trees, giant figs, flowerbeds, fountains, and two attractive lakes. The Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show takes place at the end of March.

Rippon Lea is a National Heritage Site and one of the few remaining examples of a magnificent estate. The estate has a vast Victorian pleasure garden and fernery, an old home, a lake, waterfall, grotto, orchard, and a tower.

Como House & Garden, founded in 1847, is an unusual blend of Australian Regency and classic Italianate architecture. Edward Eyre Williams founded Como as a new home for himself and his wife Jessie Gibbon, and it has been steeped in splendour and romance from its inception.