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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 5pm daily, Friday 1 April to Sunday 2 May

Join in our popular school holiday trail celebrating wildlife in New Zealand in partnership with Tūranga, Canterbury Museum and Christchurch Botanic Gardens. Pick up a free copy of the trail from any of the venues.

Aotearoa New Zealand is a great place to explore wildlife, and you don't have to go far to see it. Follow the map and look for wildlife in unexpected places in the city. Complete the activities, get a stamp and finish the picture on the back page. 

Featuring the illustrations of Gavin Bishop and inspired by his book Wildlife of Aotearoa - don't forget to fill out the feedback form to go in the draw to win a copy of the book for yourself.

Find out more information about the trail.(external link)

7pm, Monday 5 April and 9.30am, Tuesday 6 April

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.

April's speaker is Michael Brown with his talk 'All About Rose Culture'. A former President of the National Daffodil Society and Canterbury Rose Society, Michael has also judged at a national level and hybridised roses, daffodils, chrysanthemums and begonias for his own interest. Michael will share some of his extensive knowledge on new rose varieties that have been developed in the last decade and that grow well in Canterbury.

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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

11am to 3pm, Sunday 11 April

Join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens for their annual Autumn Plant Sale!

Find a great range of native and exotic trees, shrubs, perennials and succulents propagated by the talented volunteers of the Friends. 

  • 11am to 3pm (or until sold out), Sunday 11 April
  • All plants are $5 each
  • Cash and Eftpos available
  • Do your bit for the environment and bring your own carry bags. There will be none available on the day.

The plant sale will take please outside the Botanic Gardens' Kiosk, just over footbridge from the Armagh Street car park.

4pm, Sunday 18 April

Join the Friends of the Botanic Gardens for their monthly speaker series.

In April, Frank Boffa, well known landscape architect, will talk about how he got into his career; the practice he started in Christchurch in 1972; and his own award winning garden in Wellington.

  • $5 for CHS and Friends members, $10 general public
  • Refreshments provided
  • Meet in the Botanic Gardens Kiosk, just over the footbridge from the Armagh Street car park (parking free for up to three hours)

Hosted by Friends of the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

7pm to 9pm, Thursday 29 April

Join internationally recognised bulb grower David Adams for a bulb growing workshop.

In this workshop you will learn how to successfully grow bulbs in containers with tips for their maintenance. You will practice container planting and take home a pot of unique bulb cultivars which include a selection of narcissi and crocuses for continuous flowering.

Participants are welcome to bring their own containers (a plastic one will be supplied).

Hosted by the Canterbury Horticultural Society.

10.30am to 5pm, Saturday 1 May and 10am to 4pm, Sunday 2 May

See a wonderful range of blooms from delicate, threadlike flowers to enormous globes of featherlike petals. Meet members of the Chrysanthemum Circle who will be on hand to chat, answer queries and give advice about growing these spectacular blooms at home.

For even more Chrysanthemums wander over to The Kiosk to see a display by our local growers.

  • Free, everyone welcome
  • Ilex Function Room, Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre.

7pm, Monday 3 May and 9.30am Tuesday 4 May

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.

Our May speaker is Wendy Millichamp from Lilyfields. 

Having owned the Mt Somers Lilyfields for over 25 years, David and Wendy Millichamp bring considerable plant and Lily growing expertise to the gardening table. Whilst David is passionate about trees and plants, Wendy feasts on all things floral and is a keen marketer.

Wendy will speak in May on behalf of her and David and is known as an entertaining and confident speaker. She will bring prepacked tulips and lily bulbs to sell.

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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
  • Cash or Eftpos payments available to purchase tulips and lily bulbs.

7pm Tuesdays, 4 to 25 May

Love growing indoor plants and want to know more?

These concise evening classes provide a general understanding of houseplant health and maintenance with the opportunity to learn more in-depth techniques including propagation and the lost art of macramé. 

Pick and mix which sessions to come along to.

$34 for members or $40 for non-members per class.

  • Macramé:  4 May
    Learn how to make two hangers for trailing plants
  • General Indoor Plant Maintenance:  11 May
    Understand how to keep your plants healthy and happy. Explore different indoor plant species and their growing medium, light, temperature, water and feeding needs. Learn to identify common pests and diseases and how to combat them.
  • Beginners Propagation:  18 May
    Addicted to indoor plants, but don't have the budget for more plant babies? Learn to propagate and extend your collection for free. From how to sow seeds correctly to taking cuttings, all will be revealed.
  • Intermediate Propagation:  25 May
    Explore in-depth techniques to expand your collection

Book online with the Canterbury Horticultural Society.(external link)

7pm, Monday 7 June and 9.30am, Tuesday 8 June

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.

June's speaker is Christchurch Botanic Gardens Collection Curator Luke Martin. Luke will talk about his travels to New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands and share with us his highlights of the flora and fauna he encountered on these far away islands.

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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

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