I’ve been to quite a few Botanic Gardens around the world (Kew, Singapore, Cape Town, Vancouver, Sydney) and I have to say the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne (see here) is definitely one of my favourites.  The grounds are vast and the setting so pretty its difficult to remember that you are a stones throw from the city centre.  More importantly, there is a fab coffee shop that does a mean breakfast and a wonderful Children’s Garden (see here) to keep the kids occupied.  Packed in Summer, you might need to fight for a bit of grass to sit on but there is so much to explore and with the rocky creek and sprinkler system its a great way to keep cool on those hot days.

But its not all about play, the Gardens are also big on education and run some great programs throughout the year for Prep age right up to adults.  Plants play such a valuable role in children’s learning and I think such programs are fantastic way to learn through play & exploration in an interactive environment.  Water Conservation, Landscape Design, How to Plan a Garden for your Children, Plants the Dinosaurs Ate!  So many great things to investigate, read more here.