National Rhododendron Gardens
continued...
These gardens offer extraordinary vistas, especially in the hollows were the human plantings lead the eye up and up to the incredibly tall and slender gums behind them.
The Dandenongs are a popular location for weddings and wedding photos and there were the usual comic relief moments of brides obediently teetering on high heels through soggy ground and over slippery rocks as the sky spat gently down upon them. Okay, so I'm not a romantic.
As with the other parks and gardens I've visited up there, a Devonshire tea is but a step away, in this case the Café Vireya.
Ali Kayn (Nov, 1996)
The Melbourne Parks and Waterways people estimate that it takes about three hours to walk the grounds, which include a scenic lookout, nursery, dam (or is it a lake?) and a wide range of plantings. There is a toy train-like 'people mover' if you want to take the trip in kitch style, however it travels too fast for still photography.
The fabulous Azalea hedge has to be seen to be believed. (Photograph Richard Hryckiewicz (c) 1996)
Just the facts:
Contact: National Rhododendron Gardens
Parks Victoria
Visit Victoria
Getting there: see our guidebook entry for more information
Published in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 
Filed: 30-Aug-1997 
 Ali Kayn 1996){kind=link}