A biased report of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne

Entrance to the Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden... with Muehlbeckia sculptures trained on wire (bad hair day! as my girls said), and tactile fronds of asparagus fern, Asparagus densiflorus.

*

A friend of mine who also happens to be a psychiatrist, said once that women always have a special relationship with the houses they lived in when they got their babies. I think this could be extended to other significant places from that same period of time in life, like the parks and gardens where they went with their babies. Just thinking of the first steps my daughters took on the rolling lawns of the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne makes me completely and positively biased towards this peaceful, blooming park by the Yarra river, just a stone's throw from the bustling tennis courts of the Australian Open tournament.

*

A Victorian house for private functions with adjoining perennial border.

*

Furry stems and flowers of kangaroo paw, Anigozanthos 'Big Red'.

*

Founded in 1845, only ten years later than the City of Melbourne, the Royal Botanic Gardens follows the proud tradition of botanical gardens around the world. Trees, shrubs and other plants form all around the world grow on the grounds, many of them gathered in special collections highlighting special plant habitats or regions. Many plants are neatly labeled, which helps the curious visitor to identify the surrounding botanical riches. Extensive lawns that were designed in the mid-1900s provide sweeping views of the plantings, which are often gathered into islands and large beds. Large ornamental ponds reflect the greenery and double as water reservoirs.

*

Red flowering gum, Corymbia ficifolia 'Summertime' in full bloom in the children's garden.
*

Queensland bottle trees, Brachychiton rupestris, by the entrance of the children's gardens. Tower of the Governor's House in the background.

*

A bamboo grove for young explorers to get lost in.

One of the most exciting parts of the gardens is the new Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden, where kids can run around, explore and learn about plants. It is beautifully designed, with tunnels, water rills and climbing platforms to enjoy water or the canopies of the high bamboos. Alternatively, they can check our what's in season the kitchen garden - during our visit, salads had already bolted, but radishes and onions looked delicious.
**

View from the kitchen garden.

*

Echinaceas thriving in the kitchen garden.

*

It would be very spoilt to say that there is nothing extraordinary about the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, even if in one sense there isn't - all features of the gardens have been done elsewhere in other botanical gardens, even if the children's garden is one of the best I've seen. But the abundant vegetation, temperate climate, softly rolling hills and location by the river Yarra make their magic here. And the way Melburnians use their gardens, from sunrise to sunset.

The herb garden.
*

Buds and flowers of pomegranate, Punica granatum.

*

First thing in the morning, early joggers 'do the Tan', a nickname for the path that leads around the gardens (out of nostalgia, I did the Tan every day during our visit, exchanging a smiling good morning with every jogger I met...). Later, moms with strollers and the lunch crowds arrive, and during afternoons, whole families gather to play together in the gardens. In the evenings, culture aficionados devour Shakespeare plays or all kinds of concerts under the starry skies. So even without my memories about my girls, with unsteady steps and eager to smell the flowers, nosediving into the lush flowerbeds, this garden would be a wonderful oasis to visit. And with those memories attached, it is one of the special places in my and my daughters' lives.

Families teaching cricket to their toddlers in front of the bamboo groves (ball games are strictly prohibited, but quietly tolerated when the participants are under 5...).

*