This paper presents an investigation into the characterization of historical gardens by comparing two 3D survey methodologies. In this context, approaches employing terrestrial laser scanning are considered the most accurate, while Mobile Mapping Systems (MMSs) are considered promising due to their extreme productivity. Less common is the use of close-range photogrammetry. This paper compares two approaches based on the use of a wearable MMS and the use of an in-house built photogrammetric multi-camera prototype. The comparison aims to assess the applicability of the two techniques in this field, evaluating their advantages and disadvantages in surveying a historical garden and extracting information for tree inventory, such as the DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) and canopy footprint. We compared the practicality of surveying and processing operations; and the quality and characteristics of the point clouds obtained. Both systems produced a dense representation of the terrain. The multi-camera survey resulted to be more defined due to the lower noise of the point cloud but incomplete in the definition of tree canopies. DBH of tree trunks can be extracted with both systems, except for thinner and finer diameter trunks detected by the MMS approach but not always by the multi-camera. The MMS approach proved more effective thanks to a shorter survey time required to cover an equal area and the fact that the MMS survey alone is sufficient for the geometric description of trees. In contrast, the multi-camera approach cannot avoid integration with an aerial survey for canopy reconstruction.