These beautiful gardens were officially opened in 1857 and their design was influenced by the Royal Horticultural Gardens in Kew, England and the Palace of Versailles’ Gardens in France. The design of 51 hectares of public gardens are typical of that period.
Enjoy a leisurely stroll around the gardens, passed the Kainka Wirra Lake, along the avenue of Giant Figs, walk across the Conifer Lawn.
If you are visiting the gardens between October and April don’t miss the International Rose Garden that contains 5,000 roses from around the world.
Hidden within the gardens and not to be missed are three architecturally significant glasshouses, each very different and housing their own selection of plants.
The Palm House was imported from Germany in 1875 and fully restored in 1990s ; it houses a selection of palms from Madagascar.
The Amazon Waterlily Pavilion was built in 2007 to replace the original Victorian building. The pavilion houses the amazingly large Amazonian waterlilies, with lily pads up to 2m across and flowers of 40cm, they are stunning and not to be missed.
The third glasshouse is the Bicentennial Conservatory. This stunning structure was built in 1988 and is the largest single span conservatory in the Southern Hemisphere. It contains lowland rainforest plants from northern Australia , Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and other pacific islands.
The gently sloping walkway takes visitors from the ground floor onto a walkway amongst the trees canopy.
The lovingly restored Santos Museum of Economic Botany is one of the Adelaide Botanic Garden's treasures.
Reopened to the public in 2009 after a year-long restoration, it is the last purpose-built colonial museum in the world. The building features high ceilings, ornate Victorian detail, historic cabinet displays and a classical Greek-style exterior.
On display are touring exhibitions and a permanent collection which was part of the original museum display.
Author: Bob Saunders.
Parking Ticketed car parking is available in Plane Tree Drive off Hackney Road
MyParx.app This wonderful app. (for iphone and android) allows visitors to plan their trips to this and other South Australian gardens.
Search for the Adelaide Botanic Garden and you will find all you need to enjoy the gardens including a map, opening hours and information about facilities and free guided walks.
Plus two tours for users. The first is "How botanic gardens changed the world", which highlights areas of historical scientific significance around the Garden.
Complete with music, historical facts and interviews with horticulture staff, the tour truly demonstrates the historical importance of botanic gardens.
The second tour is the “Rainforest Audio Trail” for the Bicentennial Conservatory, which provides information on the significant plants within the sub-tropical greenhouse.
Guided Walks These leave from the Schomburgk Pavillion at 10.30 daily (except public holidays). To find out more about special interest walks and group bookings you can phone the Group Bookings Officer +61 8 8226 8803
Restaurant There are three choices for those looking for refreshments, the Botanic Gardens restaurant offer fine dining over looking the lake, the Café Fibonacci is part of the Schomburgk Pavillion and serves Coffees cakes and baguettes and finally the Simpson Kiosk offers a casual setting by the lake for lunch and snacks.
Disabled Visitors The gardens are wheelchair friendly, the paths are wide and relatively flat. The Bicentennial Conservatory offers full wheelchair access. There are disabled toilets scattered around the grounds.
The gardens are situated at the North East corner of Adelaide city centre.
The Main Entrance is at the far-east end of North Terrace.
From the centre it is an easy 10 minute walk.
For those not wishing to walk the majority of buses travelling east along North Terrace will stop at the gardens.