The Cranbourne Gardens, is a division of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne. It is located in the outer suburb of Cranbourne, about 45 km south-east of the Melbourne city centre.
The indigenous Australian Boon Wurrung people inhabited the area around Cranbourne in pre-European times. The site of Cranbourne Gardens was used for sand mining from as far back as the 1820s, largely to supply the building of Melbourne and its suburbs. The military used the site from 1889 until the 1960s, with private licences also issued for sand mining, grazing and timber gathering.
In 1970, the area was declared a division of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. The transformation began. Occupying 363 hectares, the gardens opened to the public in 1989.
It is The Australian Garden, opened in 2006, that is the major attraction. It aims to display the beauty and diversity of the Australian landscape. 100,000 plants are spread across the fifteen display areas in this project. Many wildlife species have returned and are supported by the landscape.
A contribution to the weekly photo challenge, transformation
Great story about transformation! Really liked reading about how the eucalyptus got its name. And I liked the watering cans – thought-provoking.
Indeed, Trish. Our tour was all too short to absorb all the information, so it is in the “must return” wish list 😉
Wonderful how this space has been transformed into beautiful gardens. I love such ‘nature restoration’ projects – very inspiring! I also love the watering cans 🙂
The clever part is the way they managed to represent so many climate zones in just one of them ?
I’m impressed by the wide brown land! Beautiful
And what a funny idea about the water cans!
Bizz
Yes, but the watering cans get the message across neatly. One of our favourite poems for you about this wide brown land. 😉 http://www.dorotheamackellar.com.au/archive/mycountry.htm
I’ll have a look 😉 Thanks
Ken- this is so interesting. All the information you shared is fascinating! Wonderful that this vast area now celebrates the natural diversity of your country. A true ecological gem for Australia. Great news for people, flora, and fauna. The watering can visual is unique and one of those ideas one could stand back and think, “I wish I had thought of that!”
What a lovely garden and I love the watering cans. The Eden Project here in Cornwall has just started an Australian garden inside the Mediterranean Biome along with King’s Park in WA – I went to have a look yesterday and it is quite nice, but just a very small patch and mainly full of kangaroo paw! I’d much rather have a wander here!
Kangaroo paw are interesting, and Kings Park in Perth has a great selection. But, they are such a narrow representation of our native flora. Come on down to enrich your experiences ?
There are other plants, just not many in flower at the moment! And lots of Grass trees!