The gardens maintains a wide variety of botanical resources for researchers and cultivates native plants threatened in the wild.

[4] When Canberra was being planned in the 1930s, the establishment of the gardens was recommended in a report in 1933 by the Australian Capital Territory Advisory Council.

In September 1949, the ceremonial planting of the first trees by Prime Minister Ben Chifley and Sir Edward Salisbury, director of Kew Gardens, took place.

Development of the site, facilities and collection progressed and the Gardens were officially opened in October 1970 by Prime Minister John Gorton.

Displays include: The area is located on the north-eastern side of Black Mountain and consists of steep to gently sloping hillsides cut by several gullies.

Special features within the Gardens include the eucalypt lawn, rockery, rainforest gully, mallee shrubland, Hawkesbury sandstone and the Aboriginal trail.

[clarification needed] The Gardens are used as an education centre from primary to tertiary levels including horticultural and taxonomic training.

A large number of rare and endangered plant species are also included in the living collections, thus ensuring the preservation of their genotypes and allowing some protection through cultivation.

Due to the mature vegetation and a wide range of habitats present in the area, over 100 native and exotic bird species have been recorded from the Gardens.