Royal Botanic Gardens Hobart, a set on Flickr.
There are many websites,booklets and pamphlets listing Hobart’s tourist attractions, but on not one of them did I find the Botanic Gardens listed.Which is a crying shame because a visit here was one of the highlights of our trip.
To say the gardens are beautiful would be a massive understatement. The sheer variety of plants alone doesn’t account for their charm.They are split into little bioshpeheres (Chinese garden, Japanese garden, french, native etc.) that seamlessly meld into one another whilst somehow keeping their unique geographical locus unblemished. Thanks to Tasmania’s climate and plentiful waterfall, there are water features aplenty and plants growing, blossoming, spectacular all year round.I would love to visit in spring when all the flowers would be in bloom, but even in late summer there was no shortage of marvellous flora.
The trees were especially impressive.It can be so easy to overlook trees, but nobody in their right mind could ever do anything but stop and stare at the massive golden elm outside the vege patch, , the huge conifers flanking the archway, or the stunted, convoluted dragon tree tucked away in the chinese garden.These gardens are home to Pete’s vege patch, of Better Homes & Gardens fame from Australian TV (which to be honest was, in my opinion, the least impressive display of the botanical gardens) and a subantarctic plant house ,replete with seabird and seal noises and subantarctic temperatures (which, in my opinion, was one of the best displays in the botanical gardens).
To top it all off, there is a restaurant with typical, exceptional fresh Tasmanian food that just inundates you with sheer flavour at every bite (be sure to order more than 2 scones, you won’t be able to stop eating them) and a charming little gift shop with everything from seeds to high end jewellery. The staff of course, were wonderful and friendly: the view across the Domain Highway andover the Derwent river appropriately stunning. Altogether, a place I will be sure to visit again.
