Christchurch Botanic Gardens

The Botanic Gardens occupy a loop of the Otakaro Avon River inside Hagley Park, and have been planted since 1863, beginning with a single oak. The result is a mature collection rather than a new one: a rose garden in formal beds, a rock garden, a native section, and long lawns beneath trees that are now very large. A row of linked glasshouses holds tropical and desert planting along with a display house whose beds are changed through the year. Punts work the river along the garden's edge, poled by people in period dress. The whole thing is free, open daily, and used as much by residents as by visitors.

What you actually see

• The rose garden - formal beds in a circular layout, at their peak in early summer.
• The conservatories - linked glasshouses of tropical, desert and seasonal planting.
• The riverside lawns - the Otakaro Avon curving through mature trees and open grass.
• Punting - flat-bottomed boats poled along the river at the garden's edge.

When to go

Late spring and early summer, from October to January, are best for the roses and the herbaceous borders. Autumn brings colour from the exotic trees, and the glasshouses carry the winter. The gardens close at dusk, with shorter hours in the cold months. Weekends fill with local families, while weekday mornings stay calm.

Honest expectations

The gardens are flat and easy but large, and covering them properly means a lot of walking. Much of the interest is seasonal, so a winter visit outside the glasshouses is mostly bare beds and lawn. The Canterbury nor'wester can be strong and hot. Punting and the cafe are charged, and there is limited shade on a clear summer afternoon.

Nearby

Hagley Park surrounds the gardens, with Canterbury Museum and the central city on the eastern side.