The Guiding Friends conduct tours around the gardens, including to the wetlands in the North Gardens. Guided walks can be booked through the Robert Clark Conservatory by telephoning (03) 5320 5135. Cost is a gold coin donation.
Informal and friendly meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of the month at 10am at the George Longley Building. Joining this group is an excellent way to learn about the diversity of the Gardens and to enjoy all that they have to offer in the company of people with a shared interest. Not only that but they are preparing powerpoint presentations on different aspects of the gardens to give potential visitors the opportunity to choose specialised tours. These include:

• The Stoddart Statues - 19th century collection of 12 classical statues of Carrara marble, gift of wealthy stockbroker, Thomas Stoddart, unveiled in 1884. How and why did they come to decorate the Ballarat Gardens?
• The Western Border project - extending the entire length of the Gillies Street boundary planted with many varieties of drought-resistant plants thus greatly increasing the botanical diversity of the gardens.
• The Prime Ministers Avenue - every Australian Prime Minister since Federation of the states in 1901 due to the generosity of Richard Armstrong Crouch (1869-1949) politician and soldier. Mr Rudd's bust will be unveiled in 2009 as the latest addition in the avenue of horse chestnuts.
• The Sequoiadenrons - (Sequoiadenron gigantea) the first specimens were planted in 1863 and are truly gigantic creating a cathedral-like setting which is popular for outdoor weddings. Stretching for one mile (1.6k) these trees form the N-S axis of the gardens known early on as the Wellingtonia avenue. A great deal of effort has been devoted to alleviating the stress evident on these much treasured trees. Spraying of heat canker fungus, coring for deep watering, mulching of vast understory areas have involved considerable expense. Despite these methods there have been some losses, removals and replacements. Such is the impact of drought and climate change in the management of the gardens.
• A Children's Tour - curriculum programs P-10 are available on DVD and a self-guided trail is suitable for all ages, but a guided walk especially for littlies is very exciting. The gardens are just the place for a great range of enriching experiences using all the senses of sight, sound, smell and touch. This is a wonderful opportunity to increase children's vocabulary and for language development.

A Self Guided Trail brochure of notable features can be printed in two parts Trail map - part 1 (pdf-160k) Trail map - part 2 (pdf-572k)