Lisgar Gardens, located on a beautiful hillside in the heart of Hornsby, is a well established garden that is known for its range of Camellias and secluded location.
The gardens were originally created by academic horticulturalist Max Cotton, who worked for many years creating garden beds and fish ponds on the steep terrain. Max formed a friendship with Professor Eben Gowrie Waterhouse and the two spent many hours together including indulging their interest in camellias and by the early 1950's, had planted 72 varieties of camellias.
Hornsby Shire Council bought the property in 1967, naming it Lisgar Gardens. The gardens were opened to the public on 21 September, 1968.
The gardens, covering an area of 2.6 hectares (6.5 acres), are often referred to as "The Secret Gardens" and boasts a variety of native and exotic plant species.
Built on a steep hillside, the garden’s different levels were created by the construction of sandstone block walls. By 1950 the gardens were planted with rhododendrons, azaleas, gardenias and other exotics in harmony with native trees and ferns, highlighting the varieties of camellia.
The gardens now boast more than three hundred specimens of camellias (including over two hundred varieties), mass plantings of annuals in the formal gardens, a covered pavilion for weddings and other celebrations, a shade house containing the fish ponds, three waterfalls, informal lawn areas, picnic tables and a rainforest walk.
In 2020, Lisgar Gardens was acclaimed as an International Camellia Garden of Excellence by the International Camellia Society.
