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Download a map of the Botanic Gardens [PDF, 2.2 MB] showing all event locations.

10am to 11.30am, Mondays during the school term

Calling all parents, grandparents and caregivers! Bring your preschool aged tamariki into the Christchurch Botanic Gardens to enjoy a simple craft or plant based activity with the Canterbury Horticultural Society.

Stories, toys and colouring-in available too.

  • All welcome - no booking needed (caregiver supervision is required).
  • Tea and coffee provided.
  • Gold coin koha entry
  • Runs during School term-time.

Enjoy gardening and nature based activities with your preschooler.

More information available on the Canterbury Horticultural Society Facebook page(external link).

3.45pm to 5pm, third Thursday of the month

Join this enthusiastic group of children who meet for practical gardening activities and to learn the science of good gardening with the Canterbury Horticultural Society.

If you know a child between 7 and 14 years of age who would be interested in learning more about all sorts of gardening then get in touch with the CHS(external link). 
  • Meet at The Kiosk (just over the footbridge from the Armagh St car park).
  • Free, but participants must bring their own face mask and gloves for handling potting mix.

*Please note that September's meeting will take place at the Lincoln Events Centre on Sunday 27 September at 1pm so children can explore and discuss the Botanical Expo.

1.30pm, daily

Join the friendly and knowledgeable Friends of the Botanic Gardens for free guided walks through some our most popular collections. 

Check the walk timetable or the noticeboard outside the Kiosk at the Botanic Gardens to find a walk that interests you.

  • Meet at the Kiosk (opposite the Armagh Street car park entrance to the Gardens). For Mona Vale walks, meet at Mona Vale.
  • 1.30pm daily, walks run 45-60 minutes except for special interest and Mona Vale walks which run for 60-90 minutes.
  • For groups of five or more, please book your attendance with friendsofthegardens@gmail.com. Booking is not necessary for smaller groups and individuals.

Bring all your friends and enjoy a informative spring tour of your favourite section.

 

10am to 4pm, Saturday 2 to Monday 25 January

Get set for an IMMERSIVE experience this Summer with the 3D microscopic photograph exploration 'Plants Up Close and Intimate & The Importance of Small'.
The Importance of Small is an exhibition that brings together stunning 3D images of plants, insects and spiders taken with scanning electron microscopes. Selected from thousands of photographs, these incredible images will transport you into a microscopic world.
  • $6 per person (includes 3D glasses and 3D image catalogue to take home)
  • Children under 5 free
  • Family entrance $20 ( two adults, two children)
  • The Kiosk, just over the Armagh Street footbridge
Additional monitors will show highly magnified everyday items as you have never seen them before. The grown-ups will enjoy viewing the amazing historic microscopes on display, while the young (and young at heart) can use the microscopes in the Discovery Zone to immerse even further into microscopic worlds.
Use your 3D glasses and take-home catalogue to discover more about bugs then view other dramatic 3D images of plants on the large screen TV.
Find out more on the Canterbury Horticultural Society Facebook page(external link).

6.30pm, Thursday to Sunday with 2pm weekend matinees, 14 to 31 January 2021

Come globetrotting with Around the World in 80 Days and experience culture, romance, and somehow, an elephant. 

Anthony Harper Summer Theatre and comedy director Dan Bain, from No, Octopus, present Toby Hulse's fresh and unique laugh-out-loud adaptation of Jules Verne's classic 1872 travel adventure. It has been produced by special arrangement with Plays for Young Audiences. 

Will Englishman Phileas Fogg and his manservant Passepartout make it around the world in 80 days? Is Fogg really fleeing a crime scene? Sit amongst the trees at Christchurch Botanic Gardens, and watch the crazy global escapades unfold – it’s live, outdoors, and one of a kind.

Bring your deck chair, picnic snacks and sense of humour!

  • All ages event
  • Weather Station Lawn, Christchurch Botanic Gardens
  • Free but koha (donations) gratefully accepted
  • Please keep your dogs at home

10am to 4pm, Thursday 28 to Sunday 31 January

Four local artists - Therese Boustead, Sandie Brown, Dawn Kirk and Christine Doyle - have joined forces to present a stunning array of art, including watercolour, oil and photograhy. 

Some artworks will be for sale and our local artists welcome your support.

  • Free entry
  • The Kiosk (just over the footbridge from the Armagh Street car park)

Hosted by the Canterbury Horticultural Society.

7pm, Monday 1 February and 9.45am, Tuesday 2 February

Join the Canterbury Horticultural Society at The Kiosk for a friendly meeting of like-minded gardeners and horticultural enthusiasts.

Every month the Canterbury Horticultural Society Events Committee secures an interesting speaker for the morning and evening meetings. This is followed by ‘Gardening Half Hour’, an informative session hosted by Michael Coulter.

February's speakers is Peter Langlands who promotes wild foods and foraging in New Zealand. Peter works with chefs all over the country, advising on how to forage for everything from seaweed to edible flowers. Find out more.(external link)

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  • Meet at The Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens (Just over the Armagh carpark footbridge)
  • Members: $5.00, non-members: $10.00
  • Tea, coffee and biscuits included

7pm to 9pm, every Tuesday from 23 February to 23 March 2021

The Art of the Indoor Plant

The Canterbury Horticultural Society are running this popular course again in 2021 with the option to come along to one or all of the sessions.
The course will cover:
  • General Houseplant Care
  • Kokodama
  • Macrame (design your own pant hanger to take home)
  • Terrariums
  • Propagation
5 sessions over 5 weeks starting February 2021. Registrations will be live in the New Year. Please message the CHS via Facebook(external link) to go on an email list, or keep an eye out late January for links.

10am to 4pm, Friday 26 to Sunday 28 February 2021

The Canterbury Horticultural Society are excited to present 'Printer, Painter, Photograph Maker(external link)',
an exhibition of stunning works from six different visual artists. 
Showcasing different media and styles, this exhibition presents an array of work from Canterbury-based printers, painters and photographers, displayed here in one place for you to explore and enjoy. The artists will be present over the exhibition for you to talk about their works and answer your questions.
You can view the artists' works via their personal websites here:

The exhibition is free to view and open 10am to 4pm daily. All works are available for purchase over the course of the exhibition or can be delivered locally if preferred. Cash and Eftpos accepted.

Located in the Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens (Over the footbridge from the Armagh Street car park).

Friday 12 to Sunday 14 March 2021

Save the date!

Grow Ōtautahi is a vibrant, contemporary garden festival for the people of New Zealand. It will showcase cutting edge garden and landscape design, provide opportunities to learn in workshops, cooking demonstrations and informative seminars, encourage conversation about food resiliance, water usage and sustainability and provide entertaining and fun opportunities to engage with all things plant based.

Free entry, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

Find out more about Grow Ōtautahi.(external link)

 

7pm to 9pm, Monday 15 March

The perfect event for lily loving home gardeners - join President of the Lily Society Rex Lyes for this short but comprehensive workshop. Rex will cover propagation, seeds, cleaning seeds, pollination, scaling, splitting bulbs, fertiliser, spray and care for cut flowers.

  • The Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.
  • $15 for CHS and Friends members, $20 for general public. Purchase tickets from the CHS(external link).
  • Please bring a mask and gloves for handling potting mix.
  • Workshop includes potted up seeds to take home.

To get involved in volunteering in the Botanic Gardens, join the Friends' of the Botanic Gardens(external link).