The best public gardens you can visit in and around Sydney

The MVP (as far as gardens go) is of course the city’s premier greenspace and easily one of the finest botanic gardens in the world. Thought to be one of the oldest public gardens in the Southern Hemisphere, Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens date back to 1810 when Governor Lachlan Macquarie and his wife had a vision for an "English parkland setting with a grand house". Over the years, this 30-hectare site has withstood fires, cattle grazing, invasions of flying foxes, a windmill, an aviary, and even a zoo. Today, save for the occasional shriek of a sulfur-crested cockatoo, it's an oasis of calm in the urban jungle, where you can stand amongst beautiful greenery as you look out over the harbour with the bridge and Opera House magnificently in view.

First built nearly 150 years ago, this sunken Romanesque garden has in previous incarnations served as an early 19th-century water reservoir, a garage, a petrol station, and a secret underground hub for budding graffiti artists. This otherworldly oasis below street level has undergone a $10 million restoration and is now a cultural precinct hosting markets, art and film festivals – however, it can be best enjoyed as a shady green retreat on a quiet day. The Paddington Reservoir Gardens is a 1023-square-metre site filled with trees, plants and lush green lawns with a hanging garden canopy around the perimeter and a lake of contemplation at its centre. The dark, gated eastern chamber has been left empty, but for the wall art that began to accumulate during its abandoned days.

The secret may be well and truly out about this hidden garden, but it really is a heart-warming story and a space worth sharing. When Wendy Whiteley lost her husband, Australian artist Brett Whiteley in 1992, she funnelled her love and grief into transforming a disused, derelict train yard space. This landscaped garden is carved up with winding paths, cobblestoned stairs and quiet benches. Alongside the natural beauty of curling ferns, flowering lilies and towering shady figs, you’ll also find bronze busts, engraved stone tablets, wooden carvings and other sculptures dotted around the garden. These artworks serve as a point of inspiration for Whiteley and the community alike, with many being donated by local artists. The garden also reveals majestic views of the sparkling harbour foreshore, framing the Harbour Bridge and the fringes of North Sydney and the CBD. Tucked away in the shadow of office towers, it is both public land and private paean to love, loss and renewal.

Waterfalls, weeping willows, lily pads and blossoms make this one-hectare garden, in the heart of the Darling Harbour precinct, a charming and calming place to spend an hour or two. Officially opened in 1988, the Chinese Garden of Friendship was a gift from Sydney's sister city Guangzhou to cement the bond between the two metropolises. Featuring calligraphy, carvings and sculptures of dragons and other mythological creatures, the garden transports visitors from Sydney's big smoke into a world of tradition and calm – a refreshing change from the exhaust fumes and traffic just metres away. The garden is dotted with hidden treasures, including an ancient cyad (fossilised plant) and a red silk cotton tree – the floral symbol of Guangdong. A highlight is the Lake of Brightness, which is full of chubby carp. 

In a city that’s far from shy about showing off its natural beauty, it’s a surprise that one of its prettiest corners may well be one of its best-kept secrets. Adjacent to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park in Sydney’s North, there’s a whopping 123 hectares of wildflower gardens surrounded by Sydney sandstone bushland. Every plant found here is native, although not necessarily local – these colourful blooms have been sourced from across Australia, including 18 threatened species of flora.

On the slopes of Mount Tomah, less than 100km from Sydney's CBD, you’ll find 28 hectares of glorious gardens that not only boast a diverse range of native and imported plant life, but also a view of the surrounding mountains that really cements why this part of NSW has UNESCO World Heritage status. Averaging altitudes about 1km above sea level, the gardens here can support cool climate species that would otherwise struggle in the NSW summer highs. There are over 5000 species of plant displayed by geographic origin, so you can take a whistlestop tour of flora from around the world as you navigate through the many winding pathways that descend the mountainside. 

It’s far from common knowledge that there are 9.2 hectares of beautiful landscaping hiding in the eastern suburb of Auburn, but this is one secret garden well worth discovering. The site is broken down into themed areas that include a Japanese garden, complete with a pond, waterfall and ornamental bridges. There’s also a reflecting pool, a scented garden, a sunken rose garden, a billabong, a native rainforest and even a playground that has full wheelchair accessible equipment, including a liberty swing. There’s also a fauna reserve and aviary where you can commune with peacocks, Cape Barron geese and red-necked wallabies. Each year the Gardens also hosts two major flora festivals, the Cherry Blossom Festival in August and the Autumn Colours festival in late May. 

The lesser known but equally beautiful sibling of Sydney’s central Royal Botanic Gardens, this expansive garden located in a hilly area of the southwestern suburb of Mount Annan boasts 416 hectares of plants, birds, mammals and reptiles which you can explore via over 30km of walking and cycling tracks. The focus here is on Australian native plants, and you’ll find plenty of examples of the country’s strange and wonderful flora in the four and a half hectare Connection Garden – which serves as a ‘roofless museum’ illustrating the way people and the natural world interconnect.