Tuesday 21st April, 2026
Leader: Colin Amour
Participants: David, Gill and Bill, Gill and Phil & Uwe
The occupants of 6 cars met at Kalista tea rooms on Tuesday 21 st April at 9am, ready for an exciting day exploring the Dandenong Ranges Gardens led by our knowledgable local guide, Colin. Most of us had already enjoyed a pleasurable drive up with the sun glinting through the tall trees.
Our first garden was The George Tindale Garden, which was planned to have something of interest in every season. We enjoyed this garden with a lovely variety of flowering plants, set beneath a canopy of Mountain Ash trees, and several trees with gorgeous autumn colourings.
Driving along winding roads, with ferns trees lining the road, we made our way to the Alfred Nicholas Garden. Colin’s careful planning had us coming through a back gate, across a spacious lawn to the area with the water features, water falls, rounded bridges and the boat house. All very picturesque with the sparkling water and reflections of the autumn coloured trees.
The trip to the next garden took us up a gravel road, even experiencing some dust! We then entered the Pirianda Gardens, which is well known for its significant rare trees including maples and birches connected by steep paths. We were also fascinated by many toadstools with vibrant colours.
Our journey continued and passed by a lookout over the RH Hamer Arboretum, with spectacular views over the Yarra Valley to the mountains in the distance.
Having enjoyed a fair bit of walking we moved on to enjoy our lunch stop at Silvan dam, entertained by kookaburras, which required us to protect our lunches in case any kookaburras came sweeping down!
Our last stop for the day was the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Gardens at Olinda, especially to get the best of the afternoon sun. After meandering through this well planned gardens, we ended at the magical Chelsea display garden and parted ways.
It had been a most enjoyable, leisurely day, with plenty of time chatting with each other as we walked around taking in the beautiful surroundings enhanced by a perfect sunny, warm day.
Text: Gill
Photos: David