Places to visit in and around Mount Annan Botanic Garden NSW

Sundial Hill sits within a stunning natural setting in the Australian Botanic Garden in Mount Annan. From here, you’ll take in a 360-degree view from the city skyline in the north-east to the magnificent Blue Mountains.

Closer, you’ll overlook the charming gardens and neighbouring countryside that form part of these exceptional gardens. You might even choose this as the perfect spot for a ceremony or celebration – but at a minimum, come and enjoy this view, spend some time, then take some Instagram-worthy photos.

Sundial Hill is so-named for the Sundial of Human Involvement - a rare type of sundial that uses a person’s body to cast a shadow onto hour markers and to tell the time. This type of sundial is also known as an analemmatic sundial and it sits atop Sundial Hill.

You can get to Sundial Hill by walking 200 m from the P4 car park, just off Caley Drive.

Relax and unwind on these beautiful lawns adorned by 2 ornamental lakes in the valley of Annan Creek. Many use these lovely spaces for special events and displays – you might even spot a wedding underway on the Marquee Lawn, where people celebrate under silk-lined marquees.

You might want to experience one of the prettiest celebrations of Australia’s 100 years of Federation in the Federation Flannel Flower Maze. This maze takes the shape of a flannel flower – NSW’s Centenary of Federation floral emblem – and asks you questions about Federation along the way.

Above the Marquee Lawn is the Lakeside Pavilion, where you’ll enjoy sweeping views across Lake Fitzpatrick.

There’s free parking nearby at the P3 car park, and plenty of seating, shelter, BBQs and bathroom facilities nearby.

Set in a cool moist sheltered gully, the Banksia garden at the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan is a lush space where you can enjoy your favourite Australian plants, such as grevilleas, waratahs, banksias, hakeas and rainforest species.

This is the place where you come to see the best of the Australian Botanic Garden’s extensive Grevillea collection, many of which were supplied by the Grevillea Study Group of the Australian Plants Society. You’ll also see the dry stone walls constructed by participants in weekend workshops – it’s a place that’s built on the love of this species.

Keep your eyes and ears out for birdlife, too. Banksias and grevilleas both attract birds who love to feed on their nectar.

The Banksia Garden is a favourite for families who want to escape the heat of a hot summer's day. People can enjoy cooler walks along the creek, and there are BBQs, 2 picnic shelters and toilet facilities available.

Get to the garden from car park P7, off Caley Drive.

Across the road from the Visitor Centre and café is the Connections Garden, on the site of the old Terrace Garden.

This is one of our most popular places. It’s an enchanting, peaceful place, surrounded by rainforest and popular for intimate events such as weddings.

When you explore the garden’s 4.5 hectares, think of it as a roofless museum – a place where you can think about the interconnectedness of people and the natural world.

The garden is surrounded by many annual and perennial cottage garden-style displays, which become the focus for an annual wildflower display.

Want to turn your own garden into an Australian native classic? The Bottlebrush Garden is the place to come – it displays the many Australian plants that you’ll commonly find at your local garden centre, but also gives you plenty of sustainable ideas that help reduce, re-use and recycle valuable resources into your garden.

You’ll find out about how you can be more water efficient in your home garden using water tanks, drip irrigation and an array of beautiful water-wise native plants. You’ll also learn about mulching and composting, correct pruning, turf care and fertilising.

You can access the Bottlebrush Garden from car park P5, off Caley Road, or from the Garden Mountain Park Trail. It features 2 BBQ areas, 2 picnic shelters, table settings and toilets.

Come and enjoy a space voted one of the top-10 playgrounds in Sydney!

The Australian Botanic Garden’s children’s playground is right next to the café and is designed for all kids from age one to 12.

With sand pits for the little ones and a flying fox for those a bit bigger, the playground is the perfect place for kids to run wild.

The kids will enjoy slides, climbing walls and there’s plenty of opportunity for them to explore. Plus kids of all abilities can enjoy some time in the air on the swing set.

And while the little ones play, parents can relax with a coffee from the cafe, which is right next door.

This is a place for you to take a journey of healing and reflection. You’ll begin with a walk through Cumberland Plain Woodland, then stroll along a series of boardwalks before you reach the site of the Stolen Generations Memorial.

This site was chosen by members of the Stolen Generations – sitting as it does in the Camden area, called Yandel’ora by the local Dharawal people, which means land of peace between peoples.

The memorial symbolises the reconnection of Aboriginal people with the land. It tells their story in its centrepiece – this is the point where you can sit and reflect on the tragic consequences of separating Aboriginal children from their families.

Sitting on land that represents peace between peoples, the memorial encourages peace and contemplation. You can visit it from car park P2, off Cunningham Drive.

The Australian PlantBank is an award-winning structure that showcases plant conservation research and germplasm collection and storage. What does this mean? It means we have collected seed and tissue culture as an insurance policy against extinction of native plants in the wild.

This fantastic building, with its substantial glassed areas, mean you can see through to see researchers working in labs from the entry to the lobby – and further still, see through to the incubators, cold storage facilities and vaults that are protecting precious Australian plant species.

With roughly a quarter of plant species facing extinction worldwide, we use seedbanking, tissue culture and cryostorage for native species, primarily from NSW.

Tours of the PlantBank are available for visitors, and venues within the PlantBank are available for hire.

You can reach the PlantBank from car park P2, off Cunningham Drive.

The Wattle Garden is a favourite picnic area, given its vibrant winter colour and amazing scent. It features around 300 of the known 950 species of Acacia, including Australia’s floral emblem Acacia pycnantha.

Come and be surrounded by one of Australia’s favourite plants – one found across Australia and an inspiration for the green and gold we see on our sporting heroes.

While the main flowering period is August, you’ll usually be able to see some wattles in flower throughout the year. This is a lovely place to stay a while, or dwell under the shade of Sydney Blue Gums, with several BBQs, a picnic shelter and toilet facilities available. The nearest parking is at P6, just off Caley Drive.

Come and learn more about how Australian plants have been used in some way by people - both past and present – at the Fruit Loop Garden.

The abundance of Australian plants on display have been used for food, tools and medicines in contemporary Australian culture. They also teach us about the natural environment and the resourcefulness of Aboriginal people who used them to survive and flourish for thousands of years.

To get to the Fruit Loop Garden, take the path between the visitor centre and the restaurant, directly from the P3 car park. You can also follow the path that links the Bowden Centre and the visitor centre to access the garden.