The Best Gardens in Melbourne & Victoria to Visit This Spring

One of the best things about spring is the gorgeous weather. With the sun shining, flowers blooming, and positive vibes all around, there’s no better activity than getting outside and taking a stroll along a beautiful garden. Whether you’re just going for a walk or plan to set up a picnic rug for the day and enjoy an alfresco catch up with friends, Melbourne and Victoria have a wealth of beautiful spots for you to soak up the sun.

So, next time you feel like getting some fresh air, here are the best gardens in Melbourne and Victoria to make a beeline for.

Best Gardens in Melbourne

Cruden Farm

At Cruden Farm, history and horticulture entwine in a story of devotion. Gifted to Elisabeth Murdoch in 1928, this grand estate became her lifelong canvas — shaped with Edna Walling’s design eye and Michael Morrison’s steady hand. The driveway alone is theatre: a cathedral of lemon-scented gums sweeping toward lawns that roll down to a tranquil lake. Beyond, roses climb walls, orchards brim with fruit, and the famed picking garden bursts with seasonal exuberance. Romantic yet generous, Cruden Farm feels less like a garden and more like a legacy in full bloom.

entry via Cranhaven Road, 60 Cranbourne-Frankston Road, Langwarrin

Rippon Lea Estate

Step through the grand gates of Rippon Lea and it feels like stumbling into a Victorian fairy tale. Just ten kilometres from the city, this 19th-century estate is all sweeping lawns, glittering lakes, and secret fern groves where time slows to a dainty waltz. Wander beneath towering trees, cross ornate bridges, and peek at the mansion’s gothic turrets before pausing for tea. A garden of grandeur and whimsy, it’s Melbourne’s most enchanting suburban escape.

192 Hotham Street, Elsternwick

St Kilda Botanical Gardens

A seaside suburb isn’t where you’d expect to find such elegance, but the St Kilda Botanical Gardens are a revelation. Created in 1859, this six-hectare escape combines Victorian charm with playful surprises — a subtropical conservatory dripping with foliage, a rose garden in full flush, a giant outdoor chessboard, and the solar-powered “Rain Man” fountain. Shady lawns invite picnics, lakeside paths promise meanders, and the EcoCentre nods to a greener future. It’s heritage, whimsy and community rolled into one verdant retreat.

11 Herbert Street, St Kilda 

Fitzroy Gardens

Laid out in 1859, the Fitzroy Gardens remain one of Melbourne’s most historic and enchanting green spaces. Elm-lined avenues frame rolling lawns, ornate fountains and colourful garden beds, while sculptures and heritage buildings add layers of story to every stroll. The Band Pavilion, Sinclair’s Cottage, the Conservatory and the Rotunda all speak to the city’s Victorian-era grandeur, making the gardens as much about history as horticulture. Beyond the landmarks, there’s a cafe housed within the grounds — perfect for coffee and cake between wanders. A true inner-city sanctuary, it’s as beloved now as it was 160 years ago.

Wellington Parade, East Melbourne

Royal Botanic Gardens

For more than 170 years, the Royal Botanic Gardens have been the city’s green heart — 38 hectares of lakes, lawns and curated plantings that blend native and international species into an ever-changing landscape. Here, winding paths lead past centuries-old trees, themed gardens and seasonal displays, while the program of events — from Moonlight Cinema to Lightscape — keeps the gardens alive well into the evening. A second site in Cranbourne champions Australian flora across a vast bushland reserve, offering a wilder, more elemental experience. Together, these twin gardens embody Melbourne’s love affair with nature, culture and community.

Birdwood Avenue, Melbourne

Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne

Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden

Hidden in the Dandenong Ranges, the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden is a year-round delight, less than an hour from Melbourne. Pathways meander through cool-climate plantings of towering mountain ash, lush ferns and seasonal displays of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. At its heart lies an ornamental lake — its stone bridge, tiny islands and rustic boathouse among the most photographed garden scenes in Victoria. In autumn, the canopy blazes in amber and scarlet; in spring, the air hums with colour. Whatever the season, this garden feels timeless, romantic and endlessly worth the wander.

1A Sherbrooke Road, Sherbrooke

Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden

Cool mountain air, sweeping valley views, and 42 hectares of floral theatre — the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden is Melbourne’s most spectacular stage for seasonal colour. Spring detonates in a blaze of rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and 250,000 daffodils, while autumn smoulders in burnt gold and crimson. Pathways curve past lakes and groves before opening onto Serenity Point, where the panorama is as dazzling as the beds below. Best of all? Entry is free. Just an hour from the city, it’s a garden that feels worlds away yet endlessly worth the pilgrimage.

The Georgian Road, Olinda

Best Gardens in Victoria

Cloudehill Gardens

High in the misty Dandenongs, Cloudehill Gardens feels like stepping into a storybook stitched from seasons. Inspired by Arts-and-Crafts design, its 25 “garden rooms” unfold with painterly precision: formal hedges giving way to billowing meadows, jewel-bright borders to hushed woodland groves. Maple Court blazes in autumn with two Japanese maples from 1928, while summer ignites the Green Theatre in riotous colour. Between strolls, pause at Seasons Restaurant or browse the Diggers Garden Shop. Cloudehill is drama, romance and horticultural artistry played in perfect time.

89 Olinda-Monbulk Road, Olinda

Geelong Botanic Gardens

Founded in 1851, the Geelong Botanic Gardens prove that heritage and modern design can share the same bed — and look fabulous doing it. Enter through the bold, bottle-tree gateway of the 21st-Century Garden, where drought-tolerant plantings make a striking first impression, then slip into Victorian grandeur: fern gullies, ornate fountains, heritage elms and floral borders that flirt with the seasons. Conservatories burst with geraniums, statues pose dramatically under dappled light, and best of all, entry is free. Timeless yet fresh, this garden knows how to work its angles.

Eastern Park, Corner of Eastern Park Circuit & Podbury Drive, East Geelong

Ballarat Botanical Gardens

The Ballarat Botanical Gardens deliver heritage and theatre in equal measure. Since 1858, this 40-hectare masterpiece has paired lakeside grandeur with Victorian flourishes: marble statues lining the Prime Ministers Avenue, a conservatory that explodes with seasonal colour, and ferny hideaways begging for detours. Throw in heritage trees, ornate fountains and sweeping lawns beside Lake Wendouree, and you have one of Victoria’s most spectacular public gardens. Free to enter, endlessly elegant — this is Ballarat at its most cultivated.

401-405 Wendouree Parade, Lake Wendouree

Castlemaine Botanical Gardens

Born of Gold Rush grandeur in the 1860s, the Castlemaine Botanical Gardens still carry the air of a prosperous past. Grand gates open to avenues of century-old elms and oaks, a Summerhouse and band rotunda straight out of another era, and the tranquil shimmer of Lake Joanna. Children race to the playground, while walkers trace heritage paths lined with stately trees. Equal parts history lesson and leafy escape, it’s a regional garden with stories woven into its shade.

Botanical Gardens, 2 Walker Street, Castlemaine

Cactus Country

Step through the gates of Cactus Country and suddenly Victoria feels a world away. Australia’s largest cactus garden stretches across five hectares, planted with more than 10,000 species of cacti and succulents from every corner of the globe. Wander eight sandy trails that weave through towering saguaros, spiky agaves and vibrant succulents, each turn a new desert vista. The light is golden, the landscapes cinematic — and the photo opportunities endless. Just watch your step: these spectacular giants are as prickly as they are photogenic.

4986 Murray Valley Highway, Strathmerton

Heronswood

Overlooking the glittering sweep of Port Phillip Bay, Heronswood is both historic estate and horticultural beacon. As the home of The Diggers Foundation, it champions heirloom seeds and traditional gardening practices, set across two hectares of carefully tended grounds. Colourful flower beds and abundant kitchen gardens inspire both gardeners and cooks, while the Garden Shop and Nursery tempt with rare plants and expert advice. End your visit at the Heronswood Cafe inside the gothic homestead, where seasonal produce from the gardens anchors every farm-to-table dish.

105 Latrobe Parade, Dromana

Blue Lotus Water Garden

For a few short months each year, the Blue Lotus Water Garden transforms into a floral wonderland. From late December to mid-April, 14 acres brim with giant lotus flowers and dazzling waterlilies — a dreamlike spectacle mirrored across tranquil lakes and winding waterways. When the lilies fade, the garden shifts into its Autumn Flower Season, where begonias, impatiens and salvias burst into colour, ensuring the beauty never really ends. Seasonal, spectacular and endlessly photogenic, it’s one of the most enchanting gardens in Victoria — and worth timing your visit to catch in full bloom.

2628 Warburton Highway, Yarra Junction

Victoria State Rose Garden

The Victoria State Rose Garden is a floral landmark, celebrated globally as a World Federation of Rose Societies Garden of Excellence. More than 5,000 roses flourish here across six hectares, arranged in the shape of a grand rose bloom that can be appreciated both up close and from above. At its peak between spring and early autumn, colour floods the beds and the air is heady with perfume. Free to visit every day, it’s a garden that celebrates beauty, romance and the timeless appeal of roses.

K Road, Werribee South

Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm

A sea of lavender ripples across 100 acres at Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm, its rows of purple blooms framing 19th-century stone buildings and wide blue skies. Just ten minutes from Daylesford, this historic estate is as much about atmosphere as it is about flowers. Meet friendly farm animals, wander through the heritage gardens, then retreat to Maria’s Trattoria for wood-fired fare and still-warm lavender scones. Opening in 2024, Tinetti’s Wine Bar will add another layer of indulgence — the perfect spot to toast this enchanting slice of Victoria.

350 Hepburn-Newstead Road, Shepherds Flat

Alowyn Gardens and Nursery

In the heart of the Yarra Valley, Alowyn Gardens unfolds like a living canvas — seven acres of horticultural theatre where nine distinct landscapes flow seamlessly into one another. The wisteria arch is its crown jewel, a 100-metre tunnel of blossom that dazzles in spring and glows amber come autumn. Wander through parterre formality, birch forests, and perennial borders that shift with the seasons. Pause for coffee at the courtyard cafe, then browse the nursery to take a slice of this garden paradise home.

1210 Melba Highway, Yarra Glen 

Forest Glade Gardens

Almost a century in the making, Forest Glade is a private garden in Victoria that feels like several worlds within one. Across its 14 acres, English, Italian, Japanese and woodland landscaping styles intertwine in a seamless, almost theatrical sweep. Wander beneath avenues of maples that blaze orange in autumn, or linger by rhododendrons, azaleas and peonies that erupt in colour each spring. Every turn reveals another carefully framed vista — stone urns peeking through hedges, koi gliding in ponds, shaded paths unfurling into sun-drenched lawns.

816 Mount Macedon Road, Mount Macedon

Can’t get enough of the best gardens in Melbourne and Victoria and want to check out what other outdoor activities are on offer in our city? Why not explore the Dandenong Ranges, or discover the perfect road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne – and do it in reverse?