Garden Entrance

The planted gardens near the entrance, also called the Prime Display Area, offer a variety of colourful native and exotic plants as an introductory window, or mini botanic garden, to the other garden areas found elsewhere in the 20 hectares of the botanic garden site.  From the entrance the Main Path leads to other garden areas and discovery walks.  

The lawns near the entrance with the adjacent Front Pavilion stage are a popular spot for picnics, educational activities, weddings and regular events such as Artists in the Garden. 

A large pond near the entrance provides habitat for fish (koi carp), water birds and the water dragon. The Eastern Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii lesueurii) is a lizard which can swim well, and is often seen warming up in sunny spots around the pond. Next to the pond is a tall traveller’s palm and different species of tree fern. Nearby a male Satin Bowerbird has built its bower, decorated in blue objects, to attract the females.   

A paved path under a pergola starts here by the large map of the garden. The pergola is draped with orange trumpet vine and the showy Australia Fraser Island Vine (Tecomanthe). Gardens to either side of the pergola display a variety of native and exotic species. Discover a colourful display of Vireyas or Tropical Rhododendrons, a sub genus of the Rhododendron family. 

Crossing over the Main Path you can find the Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius) commonly found behind the beaches of the Coffs Coast, and a variety of palms such as the small Walking Stick Palm (Linospadix monostachya) and the tall Bangalow Palm (Archontophoenix cunninghamiana). Further along the main path is a display of a wide variety of Azaleas and Hydrangeas, plus some Bromeliads growing in the roots of a fallen tree. Opposite the fallen tree is a special area preserving the rare Swamp Orchids (Phaius australis and Phaius tankervilleae) which are found in the Coffs Coast region.