Top Ten Garden Highlights Tour

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[{"address":"Australian Rockery Lawn","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.8588049185721,"longitude":151.21596580848185},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Native Rockery\n"},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FRockery.mp3?alt=media&token=6414d52b-1e21-49bc-80cf-1e505c878ff5"},{"metadata":{"width":599,"height":538},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FNative%20Rockery.jpg?alt=media&token=2511ab68-adb1-4894-9a83-8106168bf08d"},{"type":"text","content":"Welcome to the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, created in 1816, it is the oldest botanic garden and scientific institution in Australia. We acknowledge the Cadigal people, one of 29 Aboriginal cultural groups who comprise the Eora Nation, as the traditional custodians of this site.\n\nThis magnificent rockery, looking out towards Woccanmagully or Farm Cove is a great place to discover some of Australia’s iconic plants. Our rockery represents only a fraction of the more than 20,000 species that comprise our unique flora. The garden includes banksias, grevilleas, kangaroo paws, flannel flowers, Gymea lilies, grass trees, tea trees and paper daisies, demonstrating how beautiful and unusual Australian plants are.\n\nThe rockery was renovated and planted to showcase Australian native plants and as a backdrop for events held during the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. The Olympics are just one of the many major events we have celebrated on this site."}]},{"address":"Twin Ponds","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.86253558865394,"longitude":151.21619171136865},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Children’s Fig – Ficus macrophylla f. macrophylla\n"},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FFig.mp3?alt=media&token=523dfe65-4a25-46aa-bfab-9a00759bf9aa"},{"metadata":{"width":600,"height":324},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FChildren%E2%80%99s%20Fig%20%E2%80%93%20Ficus%20macrophylla%20f.%20macrophylla.jpg?alt=media&token=f37ac5cd-53dd-4641-aa38-aedc978ffce5"},{"type":"text","content":"Pause under our Lord Howe Island Banyan Fig (Ficus macrophylla f.columnaris) to celebrate the true heroes of the Garden – our trees. The four magnificent specimens in this location reflect the diversity of our collection of nearly 4,000 trees.\n\nLeaning to one side is a Dragon’s Blood tree (Dracaena draco), from the Canary Islands. Although botanically not a tree, it shares both their scale and resilience, as evidenced by its continued growth despite falling over in 2008.\n\nFlexing its arboreal muscle nearby is the giant Mexican Bald Cypress (Taxodium mucronatum), clearly enjoying the water from our twin ponds.\n\nOur wonderful collection of over 130 Moreton Bay Figs (Ficus macrophylla f.macrophylla) were planted from the mid-1800s. Our specimens, including this one known as the Children’s Fig, are domesticated nursery grown versions of the Australian rainforest’s giant stranglers. In their native habitat they begin life in the canopy of another tree before gradually strangling their host."}]},{"address":"Farm Cove","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.86347578468644,"longitude":151.2176572069259},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Sculpture Old and New\n"},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FOld%20and%20new.mp3?alt=media&token=eeeb1eca-1a05-4149-8374-3ecf20f12f14"},{"metadata":{"width":599,"height":350},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FSculpture%20Old%20and%20New.jpg?alt=media&token=1607a8ef-c2dc-41b9-882f-aa6d406f11e9"},{"type":"text","content":"Flanking Farm Cove are two sculptures by Australian artist, Bronwyn Oliver (1959-2006). Palm and Magnolia (1999) were the Garden’s first sculptures with plants as their subject.\n\nPalm’s woven copper form echoes the shape of the overhanging palm (Phoenix reclinata) and Magnolia, the seed-bearing fruit of the Bull Bay Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), both reference the exotic flotsam and jetsam brought in on the tide.\n\nProviding contrast on the lawn between them is the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates, a neo-classical replica of Athens' Choragic Monument (333 BCE,) built to honour Lysicrates’ patronage of a male chorus at the Athens Dionysia.\n\nThe Garden’s example was commissioned by former NSW Premier and Attorney-General, James Martin in the 1860s. While the original was marble, Martin’s was executed in local sandstone, reflecting his civic pride. Originally situated in the garden of Martin’s Potts Point home, the monument was moved to the Garden in 1943 and has recently been restored."}]},{"address":"Amphitheater Lawn","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.863826484910895,"longitude":151.22010130021744},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Remnant Forest Red Gum Eucalyptus tereticornis\n"},{"metadata":{"width":586,"height":535},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FRemnant%20Forest%20Red%20Gum%20Eucalyptus%20tereticornis.jpg?alt=media&token=d369b99b-4fe2-46c3-b080-4c568f532699"},{"type":"text","content":"Take a moment to enjoy the spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House from this original sandstone outcrop.\n\nThis is where you will also find one of our oldest trees, the gnarled Forest Red Gum (Eucalyptus tereticornis), thought to be a remnant of the original forests that grew here before European settlement.\n\nThis remarkable survivor has witnessed the modern transformation of the Australian continent, which began on this site in 1788 when 9 acres of land were cleared to establish the colony’s first European style farm."},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FRed%20gum.mp3?alt=media&token=079f71b8-b23d-4a04-906a-5503ee62b075"}]},{"address":"46P9+32","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.864839888798414,"longitude":151.217602728446},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Tropical Horticulture Garden\n"},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FHorticultura.mp3?alt=media&token=80ff0c88-9c46-48e3-b995-bbc8e83ab234"},{"metadata":{"width":597,"height":457},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FTropical%20Horticulture%20Garden.jpg?alt=media&token=7f40b4f3-8fe9-45b0-baa2-b9f8a0c42373"},{"type":"text","content":"Step off the asphalt path into our Tropical Garden and witness the diversity of flower and form found in plants from the tropics and sub-tropics.\n\nYou’ll be amazed by the huge pleated leaves of the Dinner Plate fig (Ficus dammaropsis) from New Guinea, the pink flowering bananas (Musa velutina) from India and seasonal flowers like the Bat Plant (Tacca chantrieri) from Asia in the Tropical Garden.\n\nYou’ll also find an abundance of Bromeliads – a relative of the Pineapple – growing in the ground, on palms and even hanging from our Indian Rosewood tree."}]},{"address":"The First European Garden in the Continent of Australia","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.865632414234845,"longitude":151.21771075231615},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# The First European Garden in the Continent of Australia"},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FPine.mp3?alt=media&token=ca2501d5-4397-48c7-a118-d7f20427371a"},{"metadata":{"width":598,"height":312},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FWollemi%20Pine.jpg?alt=media&token=c4778d8f-0a0e-4302-933e-c555cc72cfe0"},{"type":"text","content":"National Parks Ranger, David Noble’s discovery of this remarkable survivor from the time of Gondwanaland in 1994 sparked excitement around the globe.\n\nThis ancient tree is among the world’s oldest and rarest species. It was described by botanists at the Royal Botanic Garden by comparing it to very similar trees captured in fossils more than 100 million years ago – Noble’s discovery was like finding a dinosaur less than 2 hours from the Sydney CBD.\n\nFewer than 100 adult trees remain, growing in a small number of undisclosed locations in the Wollemi National Park region of New South Wales. This tree was grown from seed and planted in 1998 and is the first cultivated Wollemi Pine in the world.\n\nLearn more about current research into the Wollemi Pine by checking out our science pages or visit the Plantbank at the Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan."}]},{"address":"46M9+G3","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.86616423321066,"longitude":151.21763240197356},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Solander Garden and the National Herbarium of NSW – Anderson and Brown buildings"},{"metadata":{"width":599,"height":735},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FSolander%20Garden%20and%20the%20National%20Herbarium%20of%20NSW%20%E2%80%93%20Anderson%20and%20Brown%20buildings.jpg?alt=media&token=f5cac737-9129-456b-ae45-f6dc7dad7646"},{"type":"text","content":"The Swedish botanist Daniel Solander accompanied Joseph Banks and Captain James Cook to eastern Australia in 1770 and collected seeds and specimens of the plants seen in this garden.\n\nNearby you will find the National Herbarium of NSW (the middle and most modern of the three buildings). The Herbarium contains a collection of more than 1.4 million preserved plant specimens, including samples collected during the 1770 voyage of exploration.\n\nHundreds of years later, the Herbarium’s specimens are still useful for scientific study – we can only marvel at how Banks and Solander managed to keep them safe and dry on their long ocean voyage back to England."},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FBuilfding.mp3?alt=media&token=1b3fdc16-251f-494d-a962-baa17b68b920"}]},{"address":"Rathborne Lodge","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.86581209619791,"longitude":151.21642194642692},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# The Fernery\n"},{"metadata":{"width":361,"height":527},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FThe%20Fernery.jpg?alt=media&token=ba5e9ed6-3281-42bd-b3df-6d52ffeccb6f"},{"type":"text","content":"The Sydney Fernery opened in 1993, on the site of an original 1903 bush house highly prized by Victorian-era Sydneysiders as a cool haven in summer. The intimate, walled garden showcases more than 300 species of ferns and other tropical plants.\n\nThe ancient species thrive in the shady, moist microclimate created by the slatted steel roof and sandstone walls. The walls feature convict-made sandstone blocks recycled from the Governor’s Bathing House, originally built on the harbour in the early 1800s. The blocks at the back of the Fernery have bankers’ marks used to identify and pay the convict masons etched on them."},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FFern.mp3?alt=media&token=20192769-5bdc-4769-8331-299310f9fdf6"}]},{"address":"The Garden Shop","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.8652211013301,"longitude":151.21613108830158},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# Palm Grove\n"},{"metadata":{"width":238,"height":348},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FPalm%20Grove.jpg?alt=media&token=7ed0539f-a45f-451b-a011-1fb064e05102"},{"type":"text","content":"Our Palm Grove features more than 300 species of this large and valuable plant family. Palm trees were first planted in this area in 1862 by Garden’s Director Charles Moore.\n\nMoore’s palms were planted under a canopy of Australian rainforest trees that were originally grown from seed and seedlings collected by other early Garden superintendents, Charles Fraser and Alan Cunningham in the 1820s. Many of these trees such as; the Weeping Lillipilly (Waterhousea floribunda), Hoop Pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), Red Cedar (Toona ciliata) and Yellow wood (Flindersia xanthoxyla) are still growing today.\n\nYou will also find the Garden’s tallest tree here, the magnificent Queensland Kauri Pine (Agathis robusta) was planted in 1853. In addition to the many historic plantings from the nineteenth century, the Palm Grove also features more recent plantings of rare and threatened species from exotic places like Madagascar and New Caledonia."},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FPalm.mp3?alt=media&token=2ec77484-53ab-4f2c-a7d9-dc736af1dd1a"}]},{"address":"The Calyx","location":{"longitudeDelta":0.14321712068773834,"latitudeDelta":0.09219986310369421,"latitude":-33.86592081065743,"longitude":151.21522050000002},"media":[{"type":"text","content":"# The Calyx\n"},{"type":"audio","content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FThe%20Calyx.mp3?alt=media&token=0f0787ac-662e-4fbf-a9da-05ce8423384e"},{"metadata":{"width":210,"height":306},"type":"img","version":1,"content":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/freeguides-prod.appspot.com/o/assets%2Ftours%2FjgzopOnWlcQT0WhStJcs%2FThe%20Calyx.jpg?alt=media&token=9924de9c-020d-4557-a770-2bc27b2aeef4"},{"type":"text","content":"Opened to celebrate our 200th birthday in 2016, The Calyx is a state of the art horticultural display centre, featuring floral and botanically inspired interpretative displays in a climate-controlled glasshouse.\n\nYou’ll find thousands of flowering plants on the largest internal green wall in Australia here, visit to see the pictures painted and stories told by our talented designers using a floral palette.\n\nBefore you leave our amazing new space, take some time to relax and enjoy a drink while you contemplate climbing the stairs to our Palace Garden. The Palace Garden is on the site of the enormous Garden Palace that was built for the Sydney International Exhibition in 1879. The building burnt down in a spectacular fire in 1882, visit our history timeline to learn more."}]}]