MY LIFE WITH PLANTS: The Chelsea Australian Garden
- Jim Bishop
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
By Jim Bishop, for Let's Talk Plants! January 2026.
Last September, Scott Borden, Kathy Asher, and I participated in a garden tour in Western Australia. You can read more in my previous blog MY LIFE WITH PLANTS: Western Australia.
After the tour, Scott traveled to Sydney, while Kathy and I headed to Melbourne to explore gardens there. During the Western Australia tour, we inquired about any notable Australian gardens near Melbourne. The common recommendation was the Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda. It is part of the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, located in the hills east of Melbourne. Although it only opened in June 2023, it has already gained international recognition.
The garden was inspired by a temporary display garden from 2013 at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Chelsea Flower Show in the UK, which was awarded "Best in Show" by the judges. The intention was to establish a permanent garden in Australia modeled after the Chelsea garden. A portion of the former Olinda golf course was returned to the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Gardens, where a garden 20 times the size of the one created for the Chelsea Garden Show was developed. The garden was primarily designed by Phillip Johnson, nurseryman Wes Fleming, and the Trailfinders Team.
The garden's concept was to reconnect people with nature by showcasing the incredible diversity of Australian native plants in a naturalistic environment. It features over 400 plant species and more than 10,000 individual plants. At its center is a billabong—a large, often seasonal watering hole. The backdrop to the billabong is a massive collection of south-facing, red volcanic boulders with multiple waterfalls cascading into the billabong. The native volcanic boulders and red clay soil serve as a reminder of the tumultuous volcanic forces that formed the Dandenong Ranges.
A manmade feature visible from most of the garden is an oversized Corten sculpture that represents the flower of the native Waratah, an Australian member of the Protea family.
The garden is situated significantly below the botanic garden visitor center. The paths leading to it pass through an older collection of non-native rhododendrons. These enormous plants were in full bloom during our visit. After navigating some switchbacks into the garden, you find yourself in an idyllic Australian garden. A large landing along the path offers a stunning view of the billabong and the surrounding garden, taking you to a tranquil world. Additional paths and landings throughout the garden allow you to get close to many of the plants.
Let's take a stroll through the garden:
Garden Entry
After strolling through the expansive, older exhibit of rhododendrons that are as large as houses in the botanic garden, you enter the garden. A winding switchback path leads you down into it.
Ferns
After the last curve in the path there is a large collection of Australian ferns.
Garden View
The initial stop in the garden is a broader section of the path offering a view of much of the garden, particularly the billabong. This spot provides a stunning view of the water, rocks, waterfall, and plants, complemented by the sound of water cascading into the billabong and the rustling of the wind through the tall Eucalyptus trees surrounding the garden.
Rock Garden
Continuing down the path, a large wall of rocks rise up above.
Billabong
A small side path to the left leads you to water's edge.
Waratah Sculpture
A corten sculpture depicting a Waratah flower overlooks the garden. Waratahs are a species of protea native to Australia, with flowers resembling those of South African proteas. These flowers look somewhat like peonies and are typically lipstick red, although they can also range from pale yellow to nearly white. Several species are indigenous to various regions in Australia.
Water & Wildlife
We observed some ducks in the pond along with a few other birds, but they were too far for me to photograph effectively. A deck spanned a shallow water section where unique species of water plants grew, resembling the convergent evolution of reed species found in shallow waters globally.
Rare Plants
Naturally, a garden tour wouldn't be complete for me without examining all the plants, and there were plenty to admire here. Many were rare, endangered, and all native to Australia. The gift shop offered some stunning native plants for purchase, and a few miles away, there was a nursery specializing in Australian native plants. Everything was beautifully organized, educational, and enticing. But alas, there is a ban on importing plants from Australia into the U.S.
My favorite plant was the Diplolaeana in full bloom. Not an easy plant to find in cultivation outside of Australia. Oddly it is the same family as citrus, Rutaceae.
The yellow Waratah, Telopea, in the protea family.
The more common pink Waratah, Telopea. They are nearly impossible to grow in California.
A couple of unusual, but not rare acacias where in the garden. On the left is Acacia aphylla, the leafless rock myrtle appropriate planted in the rock garden. On the right is the recumbent form of Acacia baileyana. I'd grow it in a second if I should ever find one in a nursery.
With over 170 species of Banksias native to Australia ranging in size from giant trees to groundcovers, there seems to be one or more growing everywhere in Australia. Most of showy and large blooms one grow in Western Australia, but there were a few in the Chelsea Garden in New South Wales.
A few more flowers in the garden that caught my eye.
From upper left to lower right:
I haven't been able to identify this large unusual bush. However, a local bird was obsessed with hanging upside down in the bush to collect nectar or pollen from to the flowers.
Chamelaucium (Geraldton Wax) buds and a bloom. Waxflowers are mostly native to far coastal Western Australia north of Perth. They are easy to grow in San Diego, but frequently short lived.
Pimelea physodes, Qualup bell, has these amazing large flowers. It is only native to a few coastal locations Southwestern Australia.
Another waxflower.
Another rare plant native to Southwestern Australia, Boronia megastigma. Most Boronia are heavily scented and exceedingly difficult to grow in California. But you can see why people keep trying to grow them.
Another Diplolaeana, this one has yellow flowers.
