Herb and Medicinal Collection

Discover the Herb and Medicinal Collection.

Delight your senses in this secluded garden – inhale deeply and touch gently.

From tiny, short-lived annuals to grand, century-old trees, the Herb and Medicinal Collection includes a medley of plants from around the world. Their uses – medicinal, culinary, aromatic, and spiritual – are as diverse as their form and origin.

For peak fragrance, visit late spring to early autumn. Warning! Some plants in this collection are toxic or irritating. Please do not eat, and touch with caution if you are sensitive. Always consult a professional therapist when using plant medicines.

Connecting to Country

This Collection is on the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people. As you explore the Gardens you will see four colours and four words in Woi-wurrung language on the signs to reflect the Traditional Owners’ connection to Country and this particular place. The word tanderrum refers to a cultural gathering place in Woi-wurrung and the signs in this area have pink highlights.

Notes from our team

"I love caring for the Herb and Medicinal Collection; the range and variety of plants and their uses is endlessly fascinating. The whole world is represented in this dynamic collection, from ethnobotany, medicine, world cuisine, aromatherapy, perfumery, and local and global history.

Many people can relate to this garden through herbs and medicines they know. Unusual and common herbs are seasonally on display, from basil, to nigella, to Japanese pepper. I also really enjoy chatting with the many student groups that visit.” Horticultural Curator, Herb and Medicinal Collection. Listen to Sonica Botanica Episode 3: Herb Garden, Fern Gully and Sensory Garden to learn more

Young botanists

Get your nose ready!
There are lots of plants in this garden that smell amazing. Sometimes, the scent is released when you very gently rub a few leaves between your fingers. See what scents you can discover.

Listen to Sonic Snippets: from the Sonica Botanica archive

Herb and Medicinal Collection curator, Renee Wierzbicki shares a potted history of the connection between herbs and medicinal plants and the very first botanic gardens.

1m 50s

[Intro] Sonic Snippets: from the Sonica Botanica archive

[Renee] My name is Renee Wierzbicki I’m a horticulturalist and I curate the Herb and Medicinal collection.

The Western tradition of botanic gardens has its roots in the study of medicinal plants, back to the medieval universities in Europe. People studying how to treat people with medicine would need to learn those plants for what to prescribe.

Most medicines were plants until the 20th Century. So they needed gardens where the students could study and they'd plant these beautiful medicinal gardens, and then some of those people became more interested in the plants than the medicine, and that's where the science of botany evolved, through a collection like this.

All cultures used plants as medicines and as foods. Some of those cultures will have more formal collections of those plants - the classic witches garden or the medicine man's garden - but then some will just harvest and forage as they are in nature., because the land will be the big garden for them.

So we all eat plants in one way, shape or form. We use plants for clothing, for fibre, for furniture, building materials, paper...plants really connect us all.

[Outro] Listen to full episodes of Sonica Botanica at rbg.vic.gov.au