Situated just outside Hobart, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens offer lush greenery and the chance to see some rare and unusual plants. This 14-hectare site contains a range of climate-controlled houses and carefully designed gardens of indigenous and foreign plants, all surrounded by the natural beauty of Tasmania’s trees.
One of Australia’s oldest public gardens, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens were established in 1818 in the area known as the Queens Doman – a publicly owned and accessible area of bushland, just north-east of central Hobart.
The star attraction here is the Subantarctic Plant House – the world’s only collection of plants from this biome. Hobart is a popular base for Antarctic exploration, and a community of specialist scientists and explorers has grown up here over the years. The plant-life collected from subantarctic Macquarie Island is brought back to Hobart to be studied, and the botanical gardens display them in an environment designed to mirror the cold, foggy conditions of their home.
Tasmania’s local flora is all around you, but special exhibits bring together some of the more unusual specimens. The unique King’s lomatia is one of these – believed to be more than 40,000 years old, this plant reproduces by cloning itself. The lack of genetic diversity has caused problems for this rare species, and there is only one colony of it left in the world. Its presence here is part of a bid to preserve the plant as part of the botanical gardens’ conservation programme.
Take your time to wander round the site and enjoy the different climates in the greenhouses – from arid desert to humid tropics to cool forest. The outdoor themed gardens include oriental features, a relaxing lily pond, an aromatic herb garden and even a vegetable patch. Planted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation programme Gardening Australia, you can enjoy the garden’s produce at the on-site restaurant.
The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens are two kilometres north-east of central Hobart, free parking is available. The gardens are open every day, the restaurant and shop are closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day.
