The main entrance is located off King William Road opposite the Adelaide Festival Centre, between the Torrens Parade Ground on the north side and the rear of Government House on the south.
[3] In the proposal Watson wrote: "With the approval of and consent of the Adelaide City Council, we desire to lay down a formal garden, with a sundial and figure as its central unit (to denote the passing of time) within the base of which will be placed a casket containing the records of the first centenary celebration.
Our proposal is for a garden approximately 120 feet [36.5 m] by 80 feet [24 m], surrounded by a dwarfbrick wall, with long central pathway of brick leading up three short steps to the sundial ... Garden beds are provided as in the accompanying sketch, shrubs and ornamental trees as jacaranda and flame tree, against a background of golden poplars ... Miss Elsie Cornish is our adviser, and the sketch submitted is, of course, capable of modification.
Cornish's choice of plants was influenced by their symbolic meanings, selecting five Populus nigra "Italica" (Lombardy poplars) to represent the five women of the Pioneer Women’s Memorial Trust; Quercus ilex (holly oak) and Myrtus communis (myrtle) for protection and love; Lonicera (honeysuckle) for love, generosity and devotion; and Syringa vulgaris (lilac) to symbolize memory, protection, youth and tenderness.
Aside from its use as a general recreational space and quiet retreat from the city at lunchtimes, the Adelaide Writers' Week is held at the Gardens annually in March.