Christchurch Botanic Gardens - Christchurch

Work began on the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in July 1863, when an English oak tree was planted to commemorate the marriage of Queen Victoria's eldest son Prince Albert Edward to Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Over the years, natural wetlands and sand dunes have been transformed into an elegantly cultivated 30 hectare park with more than ten sub-gardens, which are mostly contained within a loop of the Avon River. If you enter from Rolleston Avenue, next to the Canterbury Museum, you'll walk past annual bedding displays and across the archery lawn to the rose garden. For much of the year, more than 250 different roses make this a colourful and fragrant place. The nearby Herb Garden has an extensive range of plants used for culinary and medicinal purposes. Adjacent to the Rose Garden is the New Zealand Garden, which provides an introduction to native species. Seven conservatories display everything from cacti and succulents to tropical orchids and carnivorous plants. Open every day from 7am, the Christchurch Botanic Gardens are an easy walk from Cathedral Square.