Christchurch Botanic Gardens - The Bog Garden

At one time, a pond in the bog garden at the Christchurch Botanic Gardens featured miniature islands shaped like New Zealand. The 33-hectare Christchurch Botanic Gardens are alongside the Avon River in Hagley Park, the largest city park in New Zealand. At the time of European settlement in 1850, the area was swamp and sand dunes. Many European trees such as oaks, sycamores, elms and pines were planted to create a landscape of open parkland and formal gardens similar to those of England. In 2008 the gardens contained New Zealand’s largest and most varied collection of exotic plants, with at least 8,500 different species.