- Address: The Mount Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah Bells Line of Road, Mount Tomah NSW, Australia
- Phone: +61 2 4567 3000
- Website: https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/tomah
- Date of creation: 1972.
- Area: 28 hectares + 128 hectares of adjoining territories
- Height above sea level: 1000 m.
- Working hours: daily from 9-00 to 17-30 (excluding Christmas).
The Mount Tom Botanical Garden is one of the three botanical gardens of Sydney (although it is located far from Sydney - 100 km to the east, in the Blue Mountains ). The garden occupies 28 hectares, and in the near future it is planned to attach to it an area of another 128 hectares.
General information
Its name was given to the botanical garden in honor of the mountain on which it is located. The word "toma" in the language of aborigines who once lived in this territory means a tree-like fern, which grows here a lot.
The history of the botanical garden began in 1934, when in the territory where the sawmills used to be located, the gardener Alfred Branet together with his wife broke the garden, the flowers of which supplied to Sydney. In 1960, the Branet family decided to give the land to the Sydney Botanical Garden, but they could not make their decision until 1972, which is considered the date of the creation of the Mount Tom Botanical Garden. However, for visitors the garden was opened only in 1987.
Features of the park
Due to its location - Mount Tom is located farther from the coast, besides at an altitude of 1000 meters above sea level - the botanical garden has become a house for plants that could not grow in the hotter climate of Sydney.
The botanical garden consists of several parts. In the traditional English garden you can see perennial grasses, beds with medicinal and culinary herbs (those plants, from which, in fact, the botanical garden began), two terraces. The third terrace, created by Australian landscape designer Edna Walling, embodies the idea of the Australian landscape; it is decorated with hand-painted lacquer pergolas, paintings on which, based on the works of the Brazilian artist Kitja, change annually. "Rock Garden" consists of plants growing on rocks. They are chosen in such a way that in any season the kindergarten would attract interest from visitors: in summer the view is pleasing to bromeliad plants, in the winter - mostly proteins.
The rhododendron garden in which you can find specimens collected from the Himalayas to the Hindu Kush, in the Americas, Eurasia is best visited from late winter to mid-summer. The marshy garden represents various types of orchids, sphagnum moss, insectivorous plants and rare plants growing in a mountainous humid climate.
In the coniferous forest, you can see plants from around the world, including giant redwoods 50 meters high and the Wollemy pine trees, which are also considered "dinosaur peers." In the "Walk through Gondwana" section you can see eucalypts - plants that have remained unchanged since the existence of the supercontinent Gondwana, which existed 60-80 million years ago. Also here you can find a Chilean bell-flower, southern beeches and other plants.
Polesie represents the Eurasian deciduous forest with oaks, birches and southern beeches. The Blue Mountains safari garden will be of interest to children aged 5 to 12 years, because here you can get to know in practice various amazing plants from different parts of the world. In addition, in the botanical garden of Mount Tom, a large number of insects, lizards, small marsupials and more than a hundred species of birds.
Catering and accommodation
In a number of picturesque places of the garden you can arrange a picnic - here for this special places are equipped and barbecue equipment is installed. You can even choose and book a picnic place in advance. In addition, the botanical garden has a rustic restaurant that serves traditional rustic Australian cuisine prepared with the freshest ingredients. On the territory of the botanical garden there is also a lodge with a capacity of 10 people; place in it should be booked in advance.
In the Visitors Center you can find out about the program of events and exhibitions in the garden, rent a wheelchair or scooter (for free!). Here you can also rent a room for business meetings, conferences or even private events. In the store at the Center you can buy various plants, umbrellas from the sun and caps, books on gardening, cards, sunscreen and souvenirs.
How to get to the Mount Tom Botanical Garden?
In the botanical garden you can come from Richmond by train - it is the last stop of the railway. Sydney can be reached by car in about an hour and a half - an hour and forty minutes. You can immediately go on the road B59, or start traffic on M2 or M4, and then go to B59.
The garden is open every day from 9-00 to 17-30, on Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays - from 9-30 to 17-30. The garden does not work for Christmas. The visitor center and toilets open at 9-00 (on weekends at 9-30), close at 17-00. The store operates from 10-15 to 16-45. The restaurant takes visitors from 10-00 to 16-00.
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