Melbourne’s supreme park, and surely one of the finest in the world, is the Royal Botanic Gardens. About 15 minutes by tram from downtown, these undulating gardens beside the Yarra River offer a tranquil breathing space where visitors can get lost in fern grottoes and cactus gardens, watch black swans cruise regally over the lake, or explore its 4, hectares of green lawns and thousands of native and exotic plants.

The Royal Botanic Gardens have a second division in the outer Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne, some 45km south-east of the city. The 363 hectare Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne have a focus solely on Australian native plants, and feature an award winning special section called the Australian Garden, which was opened in May 2006.

Important problems for the Botanic Gardens have included unwanted plant and animal life which interferes significantly with the management of the gardens. There are also problems with water conservation.