The Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney is one of the City's three largest botanical gardens open to the public. The other two are Mount Anne Botanic Garden and Mount Tom Botanic Garden.
The Royal Botanic Gardens are spread out close to Sydney's business centre, in close proximity to other important city landmarks - the National Library, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour and Parliament House. The history of the garden dates back to 1788, when it was commissioned by the governor of the colony of New South Wales. Governor of New South Wales Arthur Phillip ordered the establishment of a small agricultural farm, which became the first of its kind in the country. For nearly 30 years, local horticulturists worked to improve the grounds and to fertilise and moisten until, in 1816, a research and development centre called the Royal Botanic Gardens, which is now the oldest in Australia, was established on the site of the farm. In a relatively short period of time, on a 30 hectare plot of land an amazing wildlife haven has been created in which you can see an incredible variety of plant species of our planet - more than 7500! - including some that are on the verge of extinction.
Among the interesting thematic expositions of the garden - palm grove, greenhouse ferns, a garden of cacti and succulents and a luxurious rose garden. And one of the main One of the main attractions of the garden is the Wollema pines - perhaps the oldest plants on Earth, until recently thought to be extinct. It was only in 1994 Australian botanists were lucky enough to discover these pines in one of the mountain gorges of the continent, and today they are cultivated in a botanical garden.
Naturally, where there are plants, sooner or later there will be animals. And at the Royal Botanic Gardens you can see a variety of local fauna, most notably colourful parrots and other tropical birds. Bats and foxes nest in the trees and possums roam the grounds at night. By the way, there are about 22 thousand flying foxes here!
Between the alleys of the garden there are many small ponds, over which you can walk on decorative bridges, and hidden a variety of sculptures, and in one corner of the garden rises the in one corner of the garden stands the stately home of the Governor of New South Wales, "an outstanding example of Victorian architecture". For tourists There are cafes and souvenir shops, and there is a rail track for a mini-tram, which for a reasonable fee will take visitors around the garden.
