Description of the attraction
The Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne are located on the south bank of the Yarra River near the city center. On an area of 38 hectares, about 10 thousand plant species grow, representing both local, Australian and world flora. The Royal Botanic Gardens are considered the finest in Australia and some of the finest in the world. The long-term activity of the gardens for the cultivation of species imported to the continent is also of great importance.
45 km southwest of Melbourne, in the suburb of Cranbourne, is a 363-hectare branch of the Royal Botanic Gardens, which grows predominantly native plants in a special section of the Australian Garden, opened in 2006 and already awarded a number of botanical awards.
In Melbourne itself, the botanical gardens are located adjacent to a group of parks known as Recreation Parks. It includes Kings Domain, Alexandra Gardens and Queen Victoria Gardens.
The history of the Royal Botanic Gardens dates back to the middle of the 19th century, when, soon after the founding of Melbourne, it was decided to establish a botanical collection on the swampy banks of the Yarra River. At first, the gardens were just a herbarium, but in 1873 the new director, William Guilfoyle, changed the appearance of the garden, turning it into a picturesque place for walking and planting plants of the tropical and temperate zones here.
Today in the botanical garden you can see several exhibitions corresponding to the geographical regions of the earth: Australian Forest, California Garden, New Zealand Collection, South China Gardens and others. Eucalyptus trees, various cacti and succulents, roses, camellias, ferns, oaks and many other representatives of the world's flora grow here.
One of the most famous trees in the garden is the so-called Branch Tree - a 300-year-old riverine eucalyptus, under which the state of Victoria was once declared an independent colony. In August 2010, the tree was mutilated by vandals, and it is still unknown if it will be able to recover.
Since its earliest days, the Royal Botanic Gardens have been dedicated to the study and identification of plants through the establishment of the Victoria National Herbarium. Today, the Herbarium contains about 1.2 million specimens of dried plants, as well as an extensive collection of books, magazines and videos on botanical topics. More recently, the Australian Research Center for Urban Ecology was established here, which observes plants growing in urban ecosystems.
