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Half the fun of the Wellington Botanic Garden is getting there. We arrived into town late in the day, checked into our hotel, and headed to Lambton Quay. It’s the centre of Wellington and the location of the cable car entrance. At the top is the Wellington Botanic Garden.

There is something really special about the Wellington Botanic Garden that draws me here on each visit to New Zealand’s capital city. I think it’s the variety – from flowers to trees, from common to exotic, it seems to change rapidly. Or, maybe it’s simply that it goes downhill. We start at the top and follow the mosaic tile path down through the gardens to the city.

I present the Wellington Botanic Garden to you in photographs as we walked downhill:

A rainbow of colorful hydrangeas in Wellington Botanic Garden New Zealand
We came around a corner and were suddenly enveloped in a rainbow of colourful hydrangeas.
Succulents at the Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington New Zealand
We came to the succulents and cacti just before the endangered species.

Begonia House

Colorful flowers in the begonia house in the Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington New Zealand
A wall of striking colours and fragrant flowers in the begonia house.
Bananas growing inside the begonia house at Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington New Zealand
This hand of bananas growing inside the begonia house seemed almost out of place but isn’t it lovely with that big flower.

Lady Norwood Rose Garden

A favourite section of many is the Lady Norwood Rose Garden. Just next to the rose garden is the Picnic Cafe, a delightful place for coffee, breakfast or lunch.

One of many vivid roses in the award wining Lady Norwood Rose Garden in Wellington, New Zealand
One of many vivid roses in the award-winning Lady Norwood Rose Garden.

Bolton Street Cemetery

Wellington’s oldest cemetery is located inside the Wellington Botanic Garden.

Jewish section of the Bolton Street Cemetery in the Wellington Botanic Garden New Zealand
Jewish section of the Bolton Street Cemetery (Wellington’s oldest cemetery), which is located at the extension of the Wellington Botanic Garden.

Path symbol that leads from the cable car to city

The flowered tiles in the image are on the ground leading from the entrance to the gardens at the cable car stop (top of the hill) to the city entrance near parliament. We typically walk this path and then head over to the government buildings for a tour (if we are with guests) or for a picnic on the lawn. It’s one of the many things I like to do when visiting Wellington.

Follow these tiles through the Wellington Botanic Garden to get from Cable Car to city.
Follow these tiles through the Wellington Botanic Garden to get from the Cable Car to city.

Practical Information on Visiting the Wellington Botanic Garden:

  • The Wellington Botanic Garden is classified as a Garden of National Significance by the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture and is a Historic Places Trust Heritage Area.
  • The Botanic Gardens are open from dawn to dusk. The Begonia House hours are 9 am to 5 pm in Summer, with earlier closing in the winter.
  • There are 26 hectares to explore and include sections of exotic, rare, native, and colourful flora.
  • The Cable Car operates until 10 pm Monday to Saturday, and until 9 pm on Sunday.
  • The Space Place at the Carter Observatory is located inside the Wellington Botanic Garden.
  • Be sure to stop at the Tree House visitor centre, at a minimum to enjoy the views from the extensive decks.
  • Entry to the gardens if free. (It’s one of many Wellington activities with free entry)
  • For more information see the gardens official website here.

Have you been to the Wellington Botanic Garden?

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Flowers at the Wellington Botanic Garden in Wellington New Zealand ©Rhonda Albom 2016. For more images of New Zealand visit our blog.

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About Rhonda Albom

Capturing the essence of travel through photography, Rhonda Albom is the primary author and photographer at Albom Adventures. She is an American expat based in New Zealand. She travels the world with her husband.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jean Marie

    What a feast for the eyes, I love that deep, deep blue of the Hydrangea but everything is so beautiful! I’m very glad I stopped to look!

    Reply

  2. Ting

    What beautiful flora and foliage. I imagine it’s very peaceful here. I do love a botanical garden, it transports you away from the city somewhere colourful and quiet. 26 Hectares is some area to explore!

    Reply

  3. Lisa at LTTL

    I can get lost for hours in a botanical garden. I just told my family that they should be happy it will be a little cold yet for the garden in Denver, otherwise we’d be visiting on our upcoming trip. Lovely photos.

    Lisa @ LTTL

    PS sorry I am late in visiting this week, I was caught up in celebrating my birthday.

    Reply

  4. Trekking with Becky

    Beautiful shots and great angles! 😀 Thank you so much for sharing this for #ExpatTuesday! 😀

    Is Sarah going to be writing about her cultural exchange in Argentina? I’d love to read about it! 😀

    Reply

    • Rhonda Albom

      Thanks. and yes, Sarah will be writing about Argentina after she settles in a bit. She will continue her Sunday Snapshot features.

      Reply

  5. Susanne

    How lovely to have so much colour at this time of the year. I’ve only been to a botanical garden once but I loved it. So inspiring for a gardening geek as myself. 🙂

    Reply

  6. DBA Mountaineer

    the garden is definitely beautiful, i am not really a fan of flowers too but in overall, the surroundings become alive because of their beautiful colors.

    Reply

  9. peregrinationgourmande

    Wow! NZ is on my list! really! For now I enjoy Australia but I really have to go there. Your pics are very nice, the nature is beautiful. Thanks for sharing.
    cathy

    Reply

  11. Corey

    Looks beautiful, especially the rose garden. I love coming across a good botanical garden in my travels..this one looks like it has great variety.

    Reply

  12. Paul F. Pietrangelo

    Hi Rhonda. It’s been some time since I’ve written. My wife & I went on a cruise to the Caribbean on the Carnival Breeze. It was pretty good but I got sick ( found to have bronchitist ) and later my wife got it also. Many guests on the ship were hacking & coughing so that wasn’t good. I’m now writing about our cruise and Wednesday’s blog shows a photo I took out of my balcony. I’d like to have your feelings about it. I’m very excited and proud of the picture. I guess I must be getting better. ( I hope so )
    Good luck to your daughter. She’ll be do well. Mom & dad might be lonely though. Have a great time together. See ya my friend.

    Cruisin Paul

    Reply

    • Rhonda Albom

      Sorry to hear you got sick. It would be pretty awful to be on a ship full of sick people. Lots of great photos on you page, and that special on is really nice.

      Reply

  13. Claudia | ImagesByCW

    I think the Garden and your photos look gorgeous. I have not, but I would not mind at all to visit. I have never seen a banana flower, bloom – that is amazing! Thanks for sharing.
    p.s. and good luck to your daughter.

    Reply

  14. Kathy Marris

    Glorious photos! I haven’t been to Wellington but I have visited the gorgeous gardens in Hamilton. They were spectacular!

    Reply

  18. Jay @CraftySpices

    What a lovely place, the flowers, the color and the bananas look great.
    Thank you for sharing, hope you have a wonderful week!

    Reply

  24. Lexa Cain

    The pics are gorgeous! I like the one of the rose the best. I never knew bananas started out so green. When I first saw the pic, I thought they were jalapeno peppers! lol Kinda weird that there’s a cemetery attached to the place. Wishing your daughter a bon voyage and hoping the year passes quickly for you. 🙂

    Reply

    • Rhonda Albom

      LOL – they are much too big for jalapeno peppers. I guess I should have put in something to give a bit of perspective. Thanks for the good wishes for Sarah.

      Reply

    • Rhonda Albom

      I haven’t been to BOP, but someday I will get there. The cemetery began in 1840. I don’t know if the Jewish section started at the same time or later.

      Reply

  28. JM Illinois U.S.A.

    I enjoyed the cyber tour of the Wellington Botanic Gardens. Thanks for posting such beautiful photos. We are experiencing winter months here so really appreciated seeing all the color and photos of bananas etc.
    JM, Illinois-U.S.A.

    Reply

  30. Lyn (aka) The Travelling Lindfields

    Your photos are lovely. We went to the Botanic Garden when we were in Wellington almost exactly a year ago. I had forgotten about the little path mosaics until I saw your photo – and thought – that looks familiar.

    Reply

  32. Marcella @ WhatAWonderfulWorld

    Gorgeous! I love all of the colours and textures that you captured. There is something so peaceful about wandering around gardens, camera in hand and just taking it all. It’s one of my favourite things to do!

    Reply

  33. Kathryn Grace

    As always, your photographs are marvelous. I thoroughly enjoyed walking down the hill with you. I had to wonder: Did the gardeners put a railroad spike at the foot of each of the pink hydrangeas to get them to turn pink, as gardeners used to in the Pacific northwest when I was a child? Whatever made for that purply-pink-blue rainbow, you captured it beautifully, as you did all the other goodies.

    Thanks! I needed a nice break from work, work, work.

    Reply

    • Rhonda Albom

      Interesting question, and one which I have no idea. We have shell at home as a ground cover and we get very purple/pink hydrangeas.

      Reply

  41. Eli

    Looking at those colorful flowers made me soooo happy:-) They are just so lovely!! You sure know Your photoskills too – amazing Pictures:-) Good Luck to Your daughter on her New adventures. I knwo the feeling — when mine moved out to study n another country…. Oh…. Well, as long as they are happy we feel happy too, right. Hugs

    Reply

  42. Hilary

    Hi Rhonda – those are stunning shots … loved seeing them .. the hydrangeas are particularly stunning – they’re a Cornish shrub to me .. and remind me of my mother and Cornwall. Have a very happy last few hours – as you’re into that sort of count down now with Sarah – she will have the most amazing time … as will you when you get to chat with her as she travels and learns … lucky girl. Have so much fun – and lots of thoughts to you all – cheers Hilary

    Reply

  43. Amila @ Leisure and Me

    All these are beautiful photos .I really love the colourful begonia flowers.It is interesting to see a banana tree in this garden.

    Reply

    • Rhonda Albom

      Honestly, it’s not always my favourite thing to do, except in Wellington. There is something really special about this one.

      Reply

  45. stevebethere

    Now these are beautiful shots Rhonda love all the colours that lovely rose and the pretty begonia

    Have a petaltastic day and gissa banana LOL 🙂

    Reply

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