Improvements were made to the property by a Mr Potter who purchased the property in 1939. However, the most substantial work on the existing garden was carried out by George Tindale, a research scientist with the Victorian Department of Agriculture, and his wife. They bought the property in 1958. Mrs Tindale bequeathed the garden to the Victorian Conservation Trust in 1980 and Parks Victoria took over the management in 1995. In springtime, the garden boasts magnolias, azaleas, camellias, cornus and spring bulbs.
Summer sees liliums, fuchsias, hydrangeas and perennials in bloom.
There are cyclamen, nerines, lapageria and autumn foliage in autumn and camellias, luculia, rhododendrons and hellebores in winter. Met bus 694 from Belgrave Station stops near the front gate. There are picnic and toilet facilities and many walking paths. The Wombat Gallery on Monbulk Rd has wombat-related displays, along with exhibitions of works by local and wildlife artists. The Johns Hill Reserve, to the south-east of Kallista, on Ridge Rd offers excellent views of Melbourne, Port Phillip Bay and Westernport.