The city of Sydney is justifiably famous for its bridge and opera house, which are always crowded with visitors. But there is another side of Sydney that visitors may overlook, a side that offers beautiful vistas, and manna for the garden lover’s soul.
Sydney hosts two of the most magnificent gardens anywhere in the world. One has been growing in beauty since the 19th Century – the other is a bicentennial gift from Sydney’s sister city in China, opened in 1988.
The Royal Botanic Gardens
The Royal Botanic Gardens are situated in the heart of Sydney, overlooking the harbor. It was established in 1816 by Governor Macquarie. Since then a bustling modern city has grown up around the Gardens, but they remain an oasis of peace and beauty.
You will find plants and ecosystems from all over the world in this collection of exquisite gardens. Free guided walks will take you to some of the gardens’ most beautiful – and strangest – attractions, and give you insights into its history. The Aboriginal Heritage Tours are not free, but are too good to miss. It includes traditional music, dance and artifacts as well as “bush tucker.” That’s real native food, and your Aboriginal Education guide will show you where to find it and what to look for.
You can get lost in the gardens, which cover 75 acres of Sydney Cove, starting at historic Government House just behind the Sydney Opera House. The formal grounds complement the heritage building, with manicured lawns and lush floral displays. A brisk walk along the path overlooking the sparkling waters of Sydney Harbour brings you to the HSBC Oriental Garden, where plants from China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan and Bhutan are cultivated. Many of these plants are new to Australia and grow in an area inspired by the Oriental landscape.
Deeper into the gardens, you will find the popular herb garden where medicinal and culinary herbs from around the world flourish. The herb garden is designed on classical lines, with a sundial, shaped like a celestial sphere, as the centre piece, and formal plots radiating from the center.
Further exploration will reveal the First Encounters garden, featuring plants known to the traditional Aboriginal owners of the site, the Cadigal People; the Palace Rose Garden, with its fragrant displays of different varieties of roses; the Rainforest Walk, a dark, steamy stroll through Australia’s rainforest plants; and the Wollemi Pine, the oldest tree in the world, discovered in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.
You will also find the Conservatorium of Music and the Art Gallery of New South Wales in the huge grounds of the Sydney Botanical Gardens. You can spend the whole day there and not see everything there is to be seen.
There are restaurant facilities in the gardens, but one of the best ways to enjoy the surrounds is to take a picnic lunch and find a shady spot on one of the many stretches of lawn. You can have views of the gardens or the water, depending on where you sit. A favorite spot with many regular visitors to the garden are the lawns overlooking Farm Cove. Here you will find some beautiful sculptures, including the much loved Mare and Foal, cast in bronze, and so lifelike that they seem to be looking out over the water.
The Chinese Garden of Friendship
The Chinese Garden of Friendship at Darling Harbour is in walking distance from the Royal Botanic Gardens, but it is a completely different experience. Even closer to the city center than the Botanic Gardens, the Chinese Garden of Friendship is an enclosed, harmonious space that has become a retreat from the city beyond.
Designed by the Guangdong Landscape Bureau in Guangzhou, Sydney’s sister city in China, the two acre plot that encloses the garden is artfully laid out to make the most of the space. In the true Oriental tradition, the garden has been landscaped to represent mountains, forests, lakes and waterfalls. The philosophy of yin and yang is the balance of opposites in nature, and the tranquility of this garden, accented by waterfalls cascading into a still pond, and rocks that look like dragons and turtles, is like a breath of fresh mountain air in the city.
You can spend a lot of time exploring, because the garden designers created surprises around every corner – pagodas with magnificent views framed in the windows, courtyards, a sculpture featuring all the animals of the Chinese zodiac, and much more. A favorite with visitors is the sleeping Buddha, a small carved sculpture of the Buddha with tiny mice running over his sleeping form. No matter how well you know the gardens, you may not remember the paths that lead to this feature, and still come upon it by surprise.
Take a break in the beautiful Chinese tea room overlooking the gardens, where you can enjoy many varieties of Chinese tea with delightful names like Old Man’s Eyebrows and Iron Goddess of Mercy, and delicious traditional pastries, both sweet and savory.
The garden also offers a display of penjing, the Chinese version of bonsai, those enchanting miniature landscapes in pots; a costume hire shop where you can be photographed in the attire of an emperor, princess or warrior from the Ming and Ching dynasties; and the magnificent Jade Bridal Carriage, made from pure raw jade carved into intricate patterns.
You’d think an attraction such as this would have a hefty entrance fee – but as it is a gift from Guangzhou to Sydney, the entry fee is purely nominal and meant only for the upkeep of the garden.
