Gardens

Winter Gardens

The Winter Gardens contain an extensive collection of tropical and sub-tropical plants, including a display of carnivorous plant species.

The Winter Gardens were opened in 1957 and made possible by bequests from John Baker and I A Steans.

Jessie Calder Garden

The Jessie Calder Garden is the largest and most comprehensive collection of roses of its type on public display in New Zealand.

The garden was planted in 1987 after a generous bequest from Jessie Watson Calder of Winton and contains more than 900 roses and at least 400 varieties.

Henry Edginton Rose Garden

The Henry Edginton Rose Garden, just off Coronation Avenue, was planted between 1914 and 1917 by Henry Edginton, who was responsible for much of the development in Queens Park during that time.

The garden’s layout has remained virtually unaltered, except for the planting of new roses in more recent times.

In the centre of the garden, you will find the sundial presented to Queens Park by James Stewart in 1934.

Suqian Friendship Garden

The Suqian Friendship Garden in Queens Park opened in June 2020.

The completion of the Chinese Garden marked another milestone in the long-running relationship between Invercargill City and Suqian City of Jiangsu province in China.

Find out more about the Suqian Friendship Garden.

Japanese Garden

Invercargill’s sister city relationship with Japanese city Kumagaya is celebrated in Queens Park with the Japanese Garden, built from plans prepared by Kumagaya Landscape Institute president Yoshio Miyashita in 1997.

The garden is a classical Japanese design, consisting of a Japanese lantern, dry waterfall, river of pebbles, garden stream, miniature mountain range, and tea house.

Find out more about the Invercargill's sister city relationship with Kumagaya.

Stumpery

Invercargill artist Frank Wells has created this upside-down world from stumps and logs damaged by storms, donated roots from peat bogs on the Awarua Plains, recycled railway sleepers and hardwood poles and timber from reserves throughout Invercargill.

Stumperies originated in 19th Century England as a way to transform storm-damaged areas. The stumps and logs are dense and slow to rot but become home to insects, wildlife, ferns, lichens and mosses as they decay.

Edible gardens

The site of the former Cacti House and several other garden plots have been transformed into a community garden with fresh produce including kale, celery, silverbeet, chives, parsley, and thyme.

The plants are free for the public to harvest - check the signs at the garden to make sure the plants are ready to be picked. The produce is spray-free but should be thoroughly washed before it is eaten.

Please only take what you need and remember to leave some kai for others to enjoy!

Ron Petrie NZ Plant Garden

This garden contains a significant native plant collection, first started in 1937. The garden was renamed the Ron Petrie Garden in 1982 in recognition of the contribution Mr Petrie made while he was Parks and R1ecreation Director.