The Royal Botanic Gardens is Melbourne's very own ecological oasis, boasting more than 50,000 plants within its gates. The gardens can now claim a few more, especially succulent, plants to its collection with the opening of the Royal Botanic Gardens new Arid Garden.
The Arid Garden features more than 3,000 cacti and succulents from approximately 400 species. The garden is largely made possible by the donation of the Field Collection – a massive collection of cacti started in the 1930s by Ralph Field. Field bought a share in an expedition to South America, which resulted in him acquiring countless cacti that were taken to Tennyson, Victoria, and lead the way for cacti propagation in Australia. Ralph's son Robert Field donated the cacti collection to the Botanic Gardens in 2015-2016, leading to the redevelopment of the Arid Garden.
The new Arid Garden was designed by landscape architect Andrew Laidlaw, who based the swirling design off the cellular structure of succulents, as well as on French parterre gardens. The Botanic Gardens has had a collection of cacti and succulents since the 1940s, and the new garden retains some of the original features including the surrounding rock walls and some of the larger cacti (such as the towering Euphorbia, which is estimated to be roughly 60 years old.)
The Arid Garden opens to the public from today. Find it near Guilfoyle's Volcano (the closest entrance is Gate C).