I was showing a visitor around last week, and returning from a day in the Blue Mountains, we called in at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah.
It's been a long time since I was last there, and the gardens have matured nicely.
As is the way with these places, it's divided into lots of sections. There's a formal garden, a rock garden, a bog garden, rhododendrons, woodlands, and a Gondwana walk. Plus, interestingly, an explorers' walk. Not the usual line-up of explorers though. These were 14 plant explorers who went collecting in Asia over 300 years. There's also a conifer section, with, not surprisingly, some fine specimens of the ancient, recently rediscovered, Wollemi Pine. (A bit of a 'Jurassic Park' theme to go along with these.)
The formal garden was looking a bit on the informal side, I thought. The problem seemed to be the brush turkeys which had made themselves at home there!
More at:
https://www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au/
The Botanic Garden at Mt Tomah had a very close shave during the fires. The brave firies and the staff members put in a lot of work and saved it from the grim fate that befell most of the bushland all around it. It's now open again, and most of it is a green and pleasant oasis.
