Awarded Best International Landscaped Garden in the World not long after it was completed, the Australian Garden, Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is the largest garden devoted to Australian plants in the world.

In part 2 of a 3-part series on gardens showcasing Australian plants in and around Melbourne, we take a look at the Chelsea Australian Garden at Olinda. With the appearance of something that evolved naturally from the surrounding landscape over millennia, it’s hard to believe that this show-stopping garden was in fact completed just two years ago.

Australia is home to thousands of plant species not found anywhere else on earth. Around Melbourne, three public gardens specialise in displaying nothing but these unique natives. Today we’re taking a look at the first of these: Maranoa Botanic Gardens.

Fergus Hume didn’t set out to become a novelist, but the runaway success of his writing debut – a murder mystery liberally peppered with witty observations of nineteenth century Melbourne life – ensured that’s how he’d be remembered.

In an age of audio books and Amazon delivery, you might think that bookstores would be a thing of the past. Not in Melbourne. And then there’s Clunes Booktown Festival, Melbourne Rare Book Week, Love Your Bookshop Day and close to 300 public libraries statewide. Melbourne, it seems, clearly loves its literature.

Hard-working and highly decorated, but with a knack of annoying people, Melbourne’s very own eccentric botanist was born 200 years ago today.

From being abandoned to being loved by all, Jerry had a life full of adventure. And more than 90 years on, he is still remembered by his community in the hills.

Nothing marks the onset of Melbourne’s cooler weather quite like the emergence of puffer jackets.