Mount Penang Gardens
Located near Gosford on the New South Wales Central Coast, Mount Penang Gardens covers eight hectares of beautifully landscaped gardens. With twelve distinct garden rooms, the displays range from drought tolerant Australian natives to water lilies in the cascading wetlands area.
Parking is available adjacent to the gardens and is currently being expanded, along with improved road access to the area. Entry is free, but dogs are not permitted.
Entrance and Aquatic Garden
Entrance is via the Waterfall Café which overlooks a large pond. This is an excellent place to start your visit or relax after having explored the gardens. From the café, a bridge crosses the pond into the gardens.
Wildlife
On entering, an information board shows the species of birds you might be lucky enough to see. During our visit though, we only saw a few wood ducks. Also, scattered throughout the gardens are some interesting insect hotels. These are designed to attract insects and provide shelter for them.
The Gardens
Well maintained paths wind through the gardens taking you from one setting to another. The sloping terrain allows walled “rooms” to enclose area creating a micro-climate suitable for humidity-loving plants. The bromeliads and ferns growing in one of these rooms were impressive.
We loved the bottle tree grove at the top of the hill because they are such unusual trees. It was great to see them growing here on the Central coast.
Sculpture Garden
Created in 1987 by a group of international sculptors at waterside Wondabyne, these massive artworks carved from Gosford sandstone. Gifted to the people of Australia as a bi-centennial gift in 1988 to as a bicentennial they are as varied in style as the artists who made them.
To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.
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