The Gardens are ideal for a relaxed and leisurely visit, but if you’ve got limited time, a shorter stay is still very rewarding. Tailor your visit to suit your personal interests by planing ahead.

Heritage

If history and heritage is your interest the Garden’s has some of Australia’s oldest and most significant trees and heritage landscapes in Australia. This includes the built heritage such as the Friends’ or Gatekeepers Cottage and the two remarkable convict-built walls, named after Governors Arthur and Eardley-Wilmot. One of these is the only heated wall of its kind in the southern hemisphere and certainly the oldest in Australia.

The walks above the Lily Pond are very rewarding with stunning vistas across the pond and surrounding landscaped gardens. The pond is one of the oldest features in the Gardens and was the main water supply for the early Gardens. The flower displays across this area in late Spring / Summer, September to January, are fabulous.

The Gardens site was also a main area for the Tasmanian aboriginals for tens of thousands of years prior to white settlement and previous archaeological evidence has identified a number of aboriginal middens on the upper slopes of the lower lawn area, just below the main Visitors Centre.

Tasmanian Flora

The Tasmanian Plants collection is a wonderful place to discover and explore the Tasmanian flora, find the amazing Huon Pines and discover the perfumed delights of the Leatherwoods in flower. Follow the winding paths through the Tasmanian section then loop back to take a look at the Fern House which focuses on Tasmanian native ferns and sub-shrubs. Further on and through the Oak Lawn area visit the Greater Hobart Garden to look at our dry land local flora.  While onsite don’t forget to add the Subantarctic House to the experience as it is the only one of its kind in the world.  The plants on display in this house all originated from the cold and wind-blown Macquarie Island, around 1500km south of Tasmania in the Southern Ocean, roughly halfway from here to the closest Antarctic Base.

Horticultural Displays

The Gardens major horticultural displays are wonderful in all seasons with splendid perennial and herbaceous plantings around the Friends’ Cottage and the Lily Pond, through to everyone’s favourite the Friends’ Mixed Border which extends along the length of the Eardley-Wilmot Wall. The Conservatory and its surrounding beds of annuals often house colourful, ever-changing displays in peak periods around late spring to early winter.

Asia & Pacific Plants

There are three unique country of origin gardens that make for an interesting and rewarding loop walk they include the following: The Chinese Collection which focuses on plants collected in the wild within the Yunnan Province of China. The New Zealand Collection which is one of the Gardens oldest plantings in Tasmania and does justice to the wonderful plants of our brothers on the ‘other island’.  Plus one of our most popular specialist gardens, the Japanese Garden that is a real favourite with visitors.

Shop and Eat

The Visitor Centre is home to the Botanical Shop, Succulent Restaurant and Sprout Cafe.

The Restaurant is a perfect place to relax and take in vistas of the Gardens and the River Derwent while enjoying a meal.

Donations

The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens is a not-for-profit organization. Your donation is very valuable to us and greatly appreciated. It contributes in multiple ways to furthering our mission to inspire, celebrate and champion biodiversity, and deliver science-based plant conservation across Tasmania and to the world.

Become a Donor – Your contribution will support the Gardens and the important work being done onsite and beyond the gates  Make a Donation Button

Orange Spring Tulips at Domain entrance to the botanical gardens

Front entrance to the Gardens

Lily Pond with arch bridge in the Gardens

The Lilly Pond

Lilly pond with summer flowers

The Lilly Pond & Summer Flowers

more summer flowers around the lily pond with bright day lily's in the foreground

More Spring & Summer Flowers

door through the eardsley wilmot wall

Door through the historic wall

image of mixed border and the bare frame of the metal rose arch

The Friends Mixed Border