Hamilton is a city in the Waikato region on the North Island of New Zealand. The Waikato river passes through the middle of the town on its way North. At the east end of the town, the Hamilton Gardens are bounded by the banks of the river and incorporate a jetty for access to the river cruises. The award-winning gardens are a public space covering over 58 hectares and are free to enter.
These popular gardens attract more than one million people every year to wander around and appreciate the beautiful space that has been created. It is amazing to think that before the 1960s this site was basically the city’s rubbish dump! Much work has been done to create a garden worthy of the Garden of the Year award in 2014, at the international garden tourism awards.
Where to find the Hamilton Gardens
Unique design
The Hamilton Gardens are arranged in collections, including walled gardens, productive garden spaces, as well as more free-flowing park-like areas and gardens.
The collections within the gardens are:
- Paradise Collection
- Productive Collection
- Fantasy Collection
- Cultivar Collection
- Landscape Collection
The Paradise Collection
Taking a walk around the paradise collection leads you through 6 individual garden “rooms”, each representing different cultures. This walk takes about 45 minutes to complete.
The gardens are organised around a central courtyard from which you start and end your time in each section. I started with the Japanese Garden of Contemplation.
The English Flower Garden didn’t have much going on in it since I visited the garden in August. I’m sure there are a lot more flowers in this garden when Spring arrives.
A winding pathway leads you into the Chinese Scholars Garden. Beautifully done, complete with bonsais and pavilions, making you feel like you had stepped into a different country.
The Indian Char Bagh Garden was closed on the day I visited, as the gardeners were busy planting some mind-blowing number of flowering plants in the garden beds. The effect will be stunning when they are finished.
Next, I wandered into the Italian Renaissance garden complete with multi-level fountains and terraces, potted citrus trees and arched trellises.
The Modernist Garden depicts a backyard swimming pool and BBQ area, with succulents and cacti in the gardens. ( No photo! )
The Productive Collection
Making my way on to the Time Court, I chose to take a look at the Productive and Fantasy Collections as well. These gardens took about 20 minutes to go through, although there wasn’t much there due to being winter. Allow more time to see this part in a different season.
Te Parapara is a traditional Maori garden, showcasing the gardening practices and food storage methods that have been passed down from generation to generation. There are also some interesting wood carvings on the walkways around the gardens. I leave it up to you to discover what they are for yourself.
A very large herb garden is divided into quarters, each quarter holding herbs for different uses. Culinary, Medicinal, Aromatic, Cosmetic. This joins up to a rather large Kitchen Garden, complete with a scarecrow. The Café in the gardens uses the produce grown in the herb and kitchen gardens.
Walking through the tropical garden brings you back to the main entrance.
Hamilton Gardens Café
After all that wandering, it was time to grab a bite to eat in the café, which overlooks Turtle Lake.
All the items on the menu sounded mouth-watering. I was pleasantly surprised to see several choices available for a Gluten-Free meal, and I ended up choosing the toasted quinoa muesli with coconut yoghurt, berry compote and almond milk. Perfection! They also managed to get a fancy design into my almond milk coffee – which takes a bit of skill, or so I have been told.
I opted to sit outside, for a view of the lake, but it was a bit of a challenge with all the sparrows out there. They obviously use the café as their main food source. I would recommend sitting inside if you get the choice because the number of birds was a bit off-putting.
That was all the garden viewing I had time for at the Hamilton Gardens, as I was setting off on a road trip to Napier. (Which is a story for another day)
Things to know:
- Arrive early and beat the busloads of tourists that descend on the park around 11 am.
- The gardens are extensive. It would take at least half a day to see everything.
- Maps of the gardens can be purchased for $2 from the visitor centre.
- The gardens are free, but a donation is always appreciated.
- There are toilets at the main entrance to the garden, but none inside.
Where to stay:
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I love the paradise collection! They look so magical and they capture the essence of the country they’re depicting perfectly! I love that! This is going on my bucket list! Thanks for sharing! I’m going to share this with my sister!
Thank you for reading Jade! I’m glad you enjoyed the information 🤩
I really enjoyed the gardens and thought they were very well done. A lovely place to spend a couple of hours.