What's on

Find out how Australia’s newest and most exciting botanic garden was created. Join an experienced guide on a journey through this world-class garden. Explore its design and learn about the spectacular plants you can use in your home garden.

What is it about this iconic Australian plant that has worked its way into the heart of all Australians?

Join this fascinating tour and discover the traditional uses, cultural significance and scientific importance of eucalypts. Finish the tour with some delicious Australian damper with Eucalyptus honey and a cup of billy tea.

Discover the essence of Australia on this sensational sensory walk.

Our Volunteer Master Gardeners are experienced home gardeners who share their passion for growing Australian plants.

Volunteering their time and knowledge, they’re on-hand to offer visitors home gardening advice.

Come and find a large selection of plants for sale including many of the most frequently admired and requested species from the Australian Garden.

Presented by the Friends of the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne, Growing Friends. 

The Woodland Picnic area is a fantastic new space for families and community groups to enjoy the bushland in RBG Cranbourne.

Large open grasslands, barbecue facilities and a children’s playground are all part of the new picnic area.

Bring your family, friends or bike group and explore the new bicycle track surrounding RBG Cranbourne. Over 4km of track winds through beautiful bush land and open grasslands.

The Garden Grub Kids’ Club is an exciting club for kids between 5 and 10 years of age.

New members receive a backpack full of garden goodies and invitations to school holiday programs and special Garden Grub Kids’ Club days.

Sign up online at www.gardengrubs.com.au.

Listen to this 30 minute audio tour of the Australian Garden from your own home PC or download it into an mp3 player or ipod and listen in as you walk around the Australian Garden. Hear first hand from the designers and staff who created this amazing new garden.

MP3 players are available for loan from the Visitor Center.

A new podcast created by artist Roger Alsop will be available to download from our website  (MP3 format).  Roger's work will provide listeners with an opportunity to hear behind-the-scenes at the Royal Botanic Gardens with a series of interviews with staff of the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne.

MP3 players are available for loan from the Visitor Center.

Our outlets at RBG Melbourne and RBG Cranbourne offer a botanic shopping experience with a range of Royal Botanic Gardens branded merchandise including greeting cards, chutneys, jams and sauces, Maxwell and Williams tableware and RBG clothing.

Autumn comes alive with our wonderful botanically-themed merchandise to brighten up your home. This season’s highlights include exquisite handmade clay orchids of different sizes, a range of beautiful botanic artwork and an in-depth collection of books.

As usual, our Artists-in-Residence program will be running at both sites. For details visit www.thegardensshop.com.au.

Royalties from all purchases assist the Gardens in its mission to advance the knowledge and enjoyment of plants and to foster their conservation. Enjoy the present and protect the future, and help ensure that the Gardens will continue to delight visitors for many years to come.

A fantastic tour for those looking for some more in-depth horticultural information.

Join a talented member of our horticultural team on a guided tour around the Australian Garden, learning about the techniques, tricks and tips used to make a spectacular Australian garden.

The award-winning Australian Garden celebrates the beauty of Australian plants, people and places. Join us in enjoying an evening with a five course menu designed by Andrew Blake featuring Australian native ingredients and accompanied by the award-winning Ocean Eight wines. Drinks and canapés overlooking the breathtaking Australian Garden will be accompanied by an Indigenous performance, followed by an exceptional dinner menu using Australian native food and local wines.

This tour is a fantastic chance to view established native plants flourishing in the Australian Garden before purchasing your own plants from the Friends of the RBGC plant sale.

A talented Volunteer Master Gardener will highlight some of the species sold in the plant sale that are growing in the Australian Garden. They’ll also give you some tips and tricks on where to plant your purchases, what to plant them with and how to care for them!

Flutter to our activity station to create some magical fairy and elf crafts from gum nuts. String together a gum nut necklace or gum nut bells to make your garden magical.

This activity takes around 15 minutes.

What is a Hortasaurus – is it a Bunyip a dinosaur or maybe a dragon?

Come in and build your own Hortasaurus from the amazing seeds pods of Australian plants.Drop in to our activity station anytime between 1 – 2.30pm and build your own hortasaurus to take home.

Suitable for all ages, but primarily 5–10 year olds.

Join our Fairy Guides on this amazing gum tree adventure as we zoom through the Australian Garden discovering what makes these remarkable trees so special.

With a flick of our wings and a swish of our wands, our senses come alive as we search for signs of gum nut fairies, then settle down amongst the gum trees for a magical fairy story and some fabulous fairy crafts. 
But don’t forget to keep your eyes and ears open as we never quite know who or what we might find hiding in a gum tree!

Fairies and elves are encouraged to dress in their best fairy costume, suitable for the weather on the day.

Suitable for children aged 2–5 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Who killed the Gum Tree? Was it a bug, disease or something more mysterious? Put on your detective hat, enter the crime scene and follow the clues to find out who committed the crime.

Detectives are encouraged to wear their best detective outfit, suitable for the weather on the day.

Suitable for children aged 5–10 years. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Join us for a delicious bush barbecue before exploring the bushland of RBG Cranbourne at dusk with our experienced guides.

Look out for native wildlife as wombats, wallabies and possums emerge for the evening. Watch the sunset over Melbourne from Trig Point Lookout.

Bring along a torch and dress appropriately for the weather on the day.
This program is subject to cancellation on days of extreme fire danger.   

Become an active conservationist and be part of positive global change! This program provides an authentic hands-on experience focusing on Victorian environmental issues and things you can do at home.

Experiences include a discovery walk, treasure box, potting up a native plant and worm farming.

Suitable for 10 – 14 year olds.

• 9am – 5pm: Groovy Gumnut display
• 10am – 3pm: Native wildlife display with Australian Wildlife Lectures.
• 11 – 12.30pm: Build a cubby using natural materials
• 12 – 2pm: Band ~ Shenanigans  
• 12 – 2pm: Face painting
• 1 – 2.30pm: Family activity ~ pot-a-plant or build a hortasaurus
• 1 – 3pm: The Essence of Australia ~ Bosistos eucalypt oil demonstration
• 1 – 3pm: The weird science of Eucalypts ~ demonstraton.
• 2 – 3pm: Guided tour ~ Story of Gums

• 9am – 5pm: Groovy Gumnut display
• 11 – 12.30pm: Build a cubby using natural materials.
• 10am – 3pm: Native wildlife display with Australian Wildlife Lectures.
• 12 – 2pm: Face painting
• 12 – 2pm: Didgeridoo workshops
• 1 – 2.30pm: Family activity ~ pot-a-plant or build a hortasaurus
• 1 – 3pm: The Essence of Australia ~ Bosistos eucalypt oil demonstration
• 1 – 3pm: The weird science of Eucalypts ~ demonstration.
• 2 – 3pm: Guided tour ~ Story of Gums

Join an experienced guide on a journey around the RBG Cranbourne bushland by bicycle. 

Enjoy the early morning bird calls, catch a glimpse of local wildlife and finish with a barbecue breakfast at the Woodland Picnic Area. An easy ride for the whole family.

Visitors meet their guide at the Stringybark Picnic Area. Please bring your own helmet and bike. Helmets are mandatory.

• 9am – 5pm: Groovy Gumnut display
• 9.30 – 11.30am: Guided tour ~ Bikes, birds and bush breakfast.
• 12 – 1pm: Stilt walkers (frill-neck lizards).
• 12 – 2pm: Band ~ Shenanigans
  
• 12 – 2pm: Face painting
• 1 – 2.30pm: Family activity ~ pot-a-plant or build a hortasaurus
• 1 – 3pm: The Essence of Australia ~ Bosistos eucalypt oil demonstration
  
• 1 – 3pm: The weird science of Eucalypts ~ demonstration.
  
• 2 – 3pm: Guided tour ~ Story of Gums

Australian plants attract an array of beautiful animals to your garden, and nothing demonstrates this better than the RBG Cranbourne bushland.

Join an experienced guide to explore the bushland, discovering the relationships between Australian native plants and the animals that call them home. Take away some great ideas that you can use at home to create your own bird, bug and bandicoot-friendly garden.

Bring your Mum to the Australian Garden on Mother’s Day and you’ll get Mum in for FREE!

The Boonerwurrung Café will be creating delicious treats to thank Mums for all their hard work. See also details below for special Mother’s Day lunch in the Tarnuk Room.

Drop in/out activity
Kids – drop-in to our activity station to create a beautiful present for Mum. Pot-a-plant to take home for your garden, or make a delicious bath bomb from eucalypt oils to spoil your Mum.

Massage station
Mums, while your kids are making a present for you, treat yourself to a 15-minute massage in the Visitor Centre gallery.

Book now for a special Mother’s Day lunch in the Tarnuk Room. Treat mum to a three-course lunch menu for $50 per person (incl coffee or tea).

Be a part of the development of the second stage of the Australian Garden.

Join our horticulture team within the new Garden and plant a tree with your family, learning the best way to plant natives and making your mark on this exciting new development! Then pot-a-plant as a piece of the Australian Garden for your home garden.