Melbourne parks and gardens

Melbourne is considered to be Australia's garden city, and Victoria as the Garden State. There is an abundance of parks and gardens close to the CBD with a variety of common and rare plant species amid landscaped vistas, pedestrian pathways, and tree lined avenues. The phrase Victoria – Garden State was used on Victorian car number plates from the 1970s to 1994, and many regional towns have well tended botanic gardens, parks and tree lined avenues.

The first superintendent of the Port Phillip region, Charles La Trobe, set aside large tracts of land around the city for open space, parkland and gardens. Much of this land has since been excised for public infrastructure like sporting complexes, railways, hospitals and other public buildings, and also for residential development, but a substantial amount has remained. This allowed landscape designer Clement Hodgkinson and Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, William Guilfoyle, to landscape many of the parks and gardens. Many of these parks and gardens are within easy walking distance of the central business district.

One of Melbourne's oldest parks is Flagstaff Gardens (7.2 ha). Used by office workers at lunchtime, the park contains a memorial to the first Europeans who died in the colony and were buried on the site between 1835 and 1840 when it was the original site of Melbourne Cemetery (later moved).

One of the most highly regarded gardens is the Royal Botanic Gardens (35.4 ha) and Kings Domain (36 ha) just across the Yarra River from the central business district. These gardens, originally a swamp, now house a fine collection of botanical species. The Botanic Gardens were established by Superintendent La Trobe in 1846. Its first Curator was John Arthur, a gardener from Heidelberg, who died shortly after. He was succeeded by John Dallachy, who was succeeded by Ferdinand von Mueller. Baron von Mueller was relieved of duties in 1873, and was succeeded by William Guilfoyle, who re-landscaped the gardens extensively and gave them their current form. They are highly prized for their landscaping, with parkland containing lakes, monuments and statues. Queen Elizabeth II granted the title 'Royal' to the Gardens after visiting early in her reign. Walking around the Botanic Gardens there are views of Government House. Kings Domain contains open lawns and stands of both native and exotic trees, which surround Government House, the Shrine of Remembrance and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Queen Victoria Gardens (4.8 ha) and Alexandra Gardens (5.2 ha) continue the parkland along St Kilda Road to the banks of the Yarra River. The Pioneer Women's Memorial Garden is also located within Kings Domain.

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Wikipedia