Public Rose Gardens of New Zealand – Part 1: North Island

 Read more from Hayden Foulds

It is always hard to write about roses at this time of the year with so many people on holiday and probably not thinking at all about roses or anything to do with their gardens. So back to what to write about this time around, I thought, what about highlighting some of the fabulous public rose gardens around New Zealand? Perfect, people are often wanting to do things while either at home or on holiday in other parts of the country. Most towns and cities have some form of public rose display which are usually part of a larger park with other attraction

Even better, they are free to visit and are open during daylight hours. So head on down and check out some of these gardens today and see how the roses are doing. If you are in the market for some roses for your own garden, make a note of which ones are doing well for later on. This time of the year often sorts the good ones out from the also-ran’s.

Because there are so many worthy of mention, I will talk about some of the North Island ones this time and save the South Island gardens for my next column in a couple of weeks.

 
Starting in Auckland, there is the Dove Myer Rose Garden at Parnell, a popular stop for tourists while in Auckland. This is also home to the Nancy Steen Rose garden which contains a collection of species and heritage roses.

Also in Auckland, is the rose garden at the Botanical Gardens at Manurewa. This was redeveloped in 2001and now contains a wide range of roses combined with other garden plants. A trial area assesses the suitability of new varieties for Auckland conditions.

In Hamilton, there is the well known Rogers Rose Garden which makes up part of the popular Hamilton Gardens. Since 2001, the garden has hosted the New Zealand Rose of the Year competition each November for new roses already on the market.

Also in the Waikato is the Te Awamutu Rose Garden. Known as the rose town of New Zealand, Te Awamutu has one of the best rose gardens around.

Tauranga has the well known Robbins Park with great views over the harbour and wonderful roses. In Rotorua, there is the Klamath Falls Rose Garden located in Government Gardens and also the Murray Linton Rose Garden, both with spectacular displays of roses. Taupo has the Joan Williamson Rose Garden close to the main shopping area.

 
In the Hawkes Bay, there is the Kennedy Park Rose Garden while Hastings has the Frimley Park Rose Garden. This has recently been redeveloped to include a new pavilion in the middle.

Palmerston North has the Dugald Mackenzie Rose Garden which is also home to the New Zealand Rose Society trial grounds. This is well worth having a look at to see the latest trends in the world of roses. A few years ago, the Levin public rose gardens came under threat from the local council who wanted to cut costs. After a public outcry, the gardens were redeveloped and the local rose society helps with looking after them. They are a credit to Levin.

Over the hill in the Wairarapa is the rose garden at Queens Park in Masterton while Wellington has the Lady Norwood Rose Garden as part of the Botanical Gardens. A short walk away is the Bolton St Cemetary with a collection of heritage roses.

Those are just a few of the many public rose gardens around New Zealand to visit and enjoy. View more here on the New Zealand Rose Society website.

Happy New Year!
By Hayden Foulds