Blue Lotus Water Garden (Yarra Junction)

Attractions include:

The Garden - The Blue Lotus Water Garden is a tropical style water garden spread over 15 acres featuring two lakes, three dams and dozens of ponds all planted with tens of thousands of Lotus flowers, water lilies and other rare, exotic and native plants. Access around the garden is via well maintained paths connected via ornate bridges with plenty of shady shelters and seating to take in the views.

Giant Amazon Lily - See the World's largest water lilies Victoria cruziana & Victoria amazonica with giant lily pads that regularly grow over 4ft in diameter and can grow large enough to support the weight of a small child. If you're here on the right day you may see the giant lily in flower. The plant produces huge flowers over 30cm in size that open white then gradually turn pink before dying within 48 hours.

Our new Amazon House is a purpose built glasshouse that replicates the plants natural environment in the tropics of South America and features many other rare tropical plants.

Little Yarra Adventure Trail - Explore and learn about our own patch of native rain forest along the banks of the Little Yarra River. You will see huge Gum Trees up to 100ft tall plus many other beautiful native ferns and plants. You may even spot a platypus playing in the river or a koala having a nap in the branch of a tree. The trail features educational boards, well maintained paths and seating, ornate bridges, viewing platforms and boardwalks.

Crocodile Pavilion - See the huge Euryale ferox lily that produces massive spiny leaves with barbs and spikes on both sides. That's why we have named it the "Crocodile Plant" because if you touch it, it bites you! The Euryale ferox is a native lily from the tropics of Eastern Asia and produces beautiful flowers. In India the locals cook and eat the seed that's said to be like popcorn.

Night Lily House - If you're visiting the garden on a cloudy or rainy day, then the Night Lily House will amaze you. See some of the most beautiful flowers on earth that only open when the light conditions are low or at night. Be amazed at the collection of rare night flowering water lilies and other plants you won't see anywhere else.

Oga Lotus Garden - The ancient Oga Lotus was around during the dinosaurs but disappeared until Dr Ichiro Oga found 3 seeds during an archaeological dig in the Hanamigawa River, Chiba, Japan in 1951. Dr Oga germinated one of these seeds believed to be 2000 years old or the oldest known lotus in the world. We germinated seed progeny of this Oga Lotus and planted it in a Japanese style garden.

Winch House - Mr Charles Winch was one of the world's foremost breeders of tropical water lilies. For over 70 years he bred over 600 different hybrid water lilies at his property in NSW. His tropical hybrids are signified by large colourful flowers and amazing variegated leaves. At the garden we have dedicated an entire glass house to Mr Winch's beautiful lilies.

Cafe Pond - This is the first pond you will see surrounded by facilities such as the cafe and group shelters. The pond contains over 20 varieties of waterlilies and other water plants.

Bridge of Mist - Operating on warms days, the first red arch bridge in the garden produces a fine cool mist. This is a great place to cool down on hot days.

Silver Lotus Lagoon - Surrounded by picnic huts it offers families the ideal location to enjoy the day. The lagoon is identified by the large silver lotus fountain and contains many types of waterlilies and Cream Lutea lotus flowers. It's also home to our monster goldfish, up to 40cm in size.

Flower Fairy Garden - Great place for families with little ones. The fairy garden is a magic place for children with it's fairy village, giant mushroom grove, rainbow slide, cubby houses and of course, lots of fairies.

Blue Lotus Water Garden Yarra Junction

Fairy Throne & Kids Garden - Meet the Fairy Queen for story time (check website for dates & times) and make a wish by throwing a coin into the fairy dell wishing well.

Kids Play Area - Conveniently located near the cafe is a climbing castle, slide and sandpit boat.

Kakadu Lagoon - Is a display of Australian native waterlilies and lotus that grow in the tropical areas of Australia. Feature plants include the Waltzing Matilda Lotus, Cape York Lotus, Gigantea Waterlily, Immutabilis Waterlily, Violacea Waterlily.

Monet Waterlily Exhibit - Discover our collection of Claude Monet's waterlilies found at his famous garden in France.The waterlilies on display are found in front of Monet's Rotunda where you can learn about the story of Monet and his friend Joseph Latour-Marliac.

Bridge Walk - Walk through the middle of Monet's Lake crossing nine bridges on your way, including the famous arched red bridge. The walk is 300m and offers stunning views in all directions (not recommended for wheelchairs).

Monet's Lake (world of waterlilies) - Stroll the sandy pathway around our largest lake offering the best views in the garden. You will see more than 70 varieties of waterlilies including the famous Hermine (white), Perry's Pink (deep pink), Colorado (salmon) and Nouchia (blue). Also adding to the colour is beautiful lotus such as Mrs Perry Slocum (double pink), Hindu (deep pink) and Perfect Pink (single pink).

Blue Lotus Water Garden Yarra Junction

Lotus Wetlands - Wander through a virtual forest of lotus flowers growing in a series of shallow ponds and bogs. Featured lotus flowers include Carolina Queen (pink), Mrs Perry Slocum (double pink), Green Magic (pink tipped), Roseam Plena (hot pink) and Cream Lutea (white). Surrounding garden beds contain thousands of perennials and annuals producing masses of colour.

Lotus Lake - Experience a sea of lotus flowers with thousands of Carolina Queen (pink) and Cream Lutea (white) blooms everyday. The garden beds lining the pathway contain a plethora of perennials including succulents, cordylines, begonias, canna lilies, crepe myrtles, pergoda vines, banana palms, salvias and impatiens.

Golden Lotus - A must see is this stunning yellow lotus flower. It has up to 88 petals per bloom and is one of the largest lotus flowers in the world. Learn about it's fascinating story.

Blue Lotus Water Garden Yarra Junction

Dragons Trail - Take the kids on an adventure to meet our mystical Red Dragons. The journey will take you through the belly of the dragon as it winds around cascading ponds full of lotus flowers, ending at Fantasy Falls.

Blue Lotus Water Garden Yarra Junction

Carnivorous Kingdom - This small pond contains a range of unusual carnivorous plants that particularly like to eat European Wasps as well as other insects. Most of the varieties in this display are from cool climates and can even survive under snow.

Opening Hours:

The Open season typically covers between Boxing Day in December and the first Sunday in April.
Opening Times

Cost:

Admission Fees

Access for Dogs:

Dogs are not allowed.

Review:

A wonderful and spectacular floral display comprising thousands of water lilies and lotus flowers which is open during the season which typically runs from late December to mid April. The gardens occupy a large area and even though it is nice to wander aimlessly around amongst all the flowers, the entrance ticket includes a map so that you can ensure all the highlights are visited.

Adults will enjoy the flowers and environment the most but kids (under 16 years of age are free) are also catered for with the kids play area, fairy throne, enchanting fairy garden, crocodile pond and dragon's tail. The Fairy Queen appears at the gardens on weekends and public holidays in the early afternoon. She holds storytime for the children and offers face painting for a small fee ($5). Pick up a scavenger hunt sheet to keep the kids engaged across the whole gardens.

There are extensive picnic facilities with lots of shelters next to the ponds, an alfresco cafe with great views over a pond filled with lilies, and kiosk (with chips, ice cream, milkshakes, coffee and cold drinks) and BBQs ($2 coin will operate the BBQ for 11 minutes). If you want to try something very unusual at the cafe, there are lotus root chips with wasabi mayo on offer. You can bring your own food into the gardens and use one of the many shelters. The best seats in the cafe next to the pond covered in lilies get taken quickly on weekends and so make a reservation or get in early.

One of the highlights are the enormous Giant Amazon lilies. Make sure you check the garden nearby to see if any upside down lilies have been placed there. You can see the structure of the lily which makes it able to support such a weight.

There are a number of water bubblers and toilets placed throughout the gardens.

If the weather is showery, it's beautiful to see how the lotus leaves repel water and create jewels of water droplets on the leaves.

There is a network of paths which makes the gardens accessible to those with prams or in a wheelchair.

The seasons at the gardens are split into the following:

Late December - Mid March - The lotus and waterlily flowers are at their best during water flower season with thousands of blooms covering large areas of the gardens. The waterlily varieties in the garden are mostly temperate (hardy) and sub-tropical with flowering occurring from late spring to late autumn. Peak of the waterlily and lotus flowers is during summer. As autumn approaches, the flowers reduce and some yellowing of the leaves start to occur.

The lotus plants in the garden are temperate (hardy) varieties, flowering from mid-December to early April. As winter approaches, the lotus leaves start to turn a golden yellow, as the plant starts to go dormant. They lose all their flowers, leaves and seed pods by mid-June, disappearing under the water. They re-emerge in late spring sending up their leaves and start to flower by mid-December, depending on the variety and seasonal conditions.

Mid March - Late April - As the water flowers start to reduce during autumn, our perennial gardens come to life providing masses of colour around the gardens. The perennial garden beds and hanging baskets have been planted with thousands of autumn flowering plants including gerberas, impatiens, sunflowers, begonias, petunias and salvias. The thousands of perennial flowers produce an impressive display up to the day the gardens close for winter. Also, the Giant Amazon Waterlilies are at their maximum size by April, producing huge leaves and spectacular flowers. All the greenhouses in Tropical World are less affected by the cool autumn weather and provide a great display of waterlily flowers during the Autumn Flower Season.

There are plenty of interesting information boards scattered about the gardens. Stopping and having a read will enrich your visit and you'll find out some interesting stories such as the following:

Blue Lotus Pond - The pond contains the Indian Blue Lotus Waterlily - N. blue nouchali. It's also known as the Star Lotus, Blue Star Waterlily and the Manel Flower. The plant is actually not a "lotus" at all, it's a sub-tropical waterlily. Their is NO blue coloured lotus flower. The waterlily is native to southern and eastern parts of Asia, including India. It's also the national flower of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It's believed Indian people used the waterlily flowers as a natural remedy for indigestion.

Silver Lotus Lagoon - The microscopic structure of the Cream Lutea leaf produces an antibacterial effect, making it safe to cook food in. The leaf structure also repels water and allows the plant to clean itself.

Egyptian Blue Lotus - The plant and flower are very frequently depicted in ancient Egyptian art including on the walls of the famous temples, often depicted in connection with significant spiritual or magical rites, including the rite of passage into the afterlife. The plant contains the psychoactive alkaloid aporphine (not apomorphine) and can produce a calm sense of euphoria or a sedative effect. The ancient Egyptians were believed to soak the dried flower petals in wine and make tea from them.

Crocodile Plant - Records show the plant has been cultivated throughout Asia for thousands of years. Mainly for it's edible seeds, which can be consumed raw or cooked. In India the seeds are often roasted or fried, causing them to pop like popcorn. The plant's leaves can grow to over a metre wide and are covered with very sharp spines that can rip into the flesh like a crocodile. These spines can easily penetrate leather gloves and waders. The leaves have similar colour to crocodile skin and in the tropical areas of northern Australia and Asia, crocodiles often hide under the leaves.

Carnivorous Kingdom - Pitcher Plants survive on eating insects and have a particular liking for European Wasps. In summer and autumn, it's not uncommon for each pitcher to with wasps in just a few days, they also eat flies and anything else that crawls or falls into the pitcher. However, bees are rarely taken, as they have a clasper on their back leg allowing the bees to climb out. Trumpet Pitcher Plants use a combination of lures to attract their prey including colour, scent, and nectar. Once inside the pitcher, most insects find it nearly impossible to climb out due to a waxy slippery surface on the inside. Eventually most insects fall into a pool of liquid at the bottom of the pitcher that contains digestive enzymes. The insects then slowly dissolve releasing nutrients, which the plant feeds on. This means Pitcher Plants, like other carnivorous plants, don't require fertiliser.

There is a nursery at the entrance which can be visited without paying admission. We aren't water lily aficionados but the prices did seem high for the plants.

The gardens are well worth the drive from Melbourne and could be combined with a trip to the lovely Warburton area.

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