Join us for one of our upcoming events at the Gardens. We look forward to seeing you!

Stay up to date with our seasonal Botanic Gardens newsletter

Sign up

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.

 

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).

7pm, Monday 1 March and 9.30am, Tuesday 2 March

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 March speaker Luke Martin, Collection Curator of the New Zealand Gardens plant collection at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. Luke will talk about his recent travels to New Zealand's Subantarctic Islands and share highlights of flora and fauna he discovered on these far away islands.(external link)(external link)

((external link)(external link)

external link(external link)(external link)

  • 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

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.

7pm, Wednesday 24 March

Join Sporeshift's Taylor McConnell for a 1.5 hour demonstation showing how to grow your own mushrooms at home.

Taylor will cover everything you need to know to begin your mushroom growing journey and will bring along a variety of organic mushrooms to taste.

  • Tickets are $15 for CHS and FoBG members and $20 for general public, book now(external link).
  • All participants receive a $5 voucher to use at SporeShift.
  • Demonstration takes place in the Kiosk, Christchurch Botanic Gardens.

SporeShift Mushrooms NZ is a small scale organic mushroom farm in North Canterbury that supplies a variety of high quality, gourmet mushrooms to local restaurants, shops and markets. Established in 2018 by young couple Taylor and Susan, the business was created to be environmentally sustainable to match their eco-friendly lifestyle.

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

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.

((external link)

external link(external link)

  • 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).