Melbourne's biggest park opens

Fresh parkland sprinkled with shrubs, swings and slides has sprung up in Melbourne, adding roots to the garden state's green reputation.

Sick kids and their families are expected to benefit most from the Royal Park extension, which is next door to the Royal Children's Hospital.

Royal Park is the biggest in Melbourne, sitting just five kilometres from both Fitzroy Gardens and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Victoria's vast inner-city parcels of nature, coupled with rolling green valleys in regional areas, earned the state a green reputation.

Numberplates emblazoned with the "garden state" slogan started circulating in the late 1970s.