Joining a free guided walk at 11am on the first Sunday of every month at the Gardens is one way to develop an appreciation of local plants in all their variety.

During the next walk, on Sunday, March 1, one of the Gardens’ volunteers will show visitors the Home Garden, the garden bed at the back of the Visitors Centre, which features low-growing plants with hosts of bright flowers, which also flourish in domestic gardens.

These plants are usually on sale in the Gardens’ retail nursery.

The guide will take visitors on the walking path north of the Visitors Centre, across Pat’s Creek, named after Pat Speirs, one of the founding mothers of the Gardens, past the children’s play area, and on to the Sensory Garden.

Plants in the Sensory Garden appeal not just to our sight but also to our senses of touch and hearing.

Eucryphia moorei (Pinkwood), which grows in the Sensory Garden, flourishes in wet, sheltered gullies on near-coastal slopes, notably in the Monga area.

Gardens volunteer Heather Haughton says Tasmanian leatherwood honey comes from the same genus but a different species.

Immediately beyond the Sensory Garden the Sandstone Garden replicates on a small scale the course of the Clyde River from its origin on the plateau above Milton to its outlet in Batemans Bay.

Visitors from Sydney will recognise many of the Sydney sandstone species.

So, please come along on Sunday at 11am; you do not need to book.

Just put on a hat and walking shoes, arrive at the Visitors Centre five minutes ahead of time, and pick up a couple of information leaflets.

Walks last for an hour or so, and participants are welcome to stay with the group for as long as they wish.

At the end of the walk, interested visitors may want to take a quick look through the Herbarium, which contains the Gardens’ collection of more than 12,000 dried and annotated specimens.

The Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens, on Deep Creek Dam Road, five kilometres south of Batemans Bay off the Princes Highway, are open Wednesday to Sunday from 9am to 4pm.­

FRIENDS of Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens will host a film night at Bay City Cinemas on March 6, at 5.30pm for refreshments.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and a host of other well-known actors.

Tickets are $20 from Ken Foster on 0416 162 614, Heather Haughton on 4471 3271 or h@haughton.id.au or in person at the Botanic Gardens.

Bookings close on February 26.

The proceeds from the film night will be spent on improving the barbecue area at the Botanic Gardens.