The Christchurch Botanic Gardens have a variety of collections of exotic and local plants of New Zealand, several conservatories, a nursery, playground and Climatological Station.

The small grove allows visitors to catch a glimpse of wild New Zealand and see mature trees and plants including the legendary silver fern, Harakeke, Rimu, Kōtukutuku.

The sandy soils at the eastern end are perfect for plants from hot dry climates and is shaded from wind by the Robert McDougall Art Gallery.

The new addition was created as a memorial to Dr Leonard Cockayne (1855–1934) in honour of his comprehensive contribution to New Zealand's botany, horticulture, ecology and conservation.

Many of the water garden plants are herbaceous perennials that lie down in winter, such as the bright blue Siberian iris and the marsh marigold.

Early colonists set aside grounds in Hagley Park to test how plants and animals from around the world would adapt to New Zealand conditions.

The Canterbury Acclimatisation Society developed the area, introducing European fish and birdlife as well as a small zoo which also housed several species, including a California grizzly bear.

In spring, primulas create a mass of early colour alongside a small stream, Addington Brook, which flows through South Hagley Park to the Avon River.

The collection has matured into a fine expanse of conifers, including many species and cultivars of cedar, cypress, fir, larch, juniper and spruce.

Until the 1950s, brass bands would regularly play at the Bandsmen's Memorial Rotunda and many Christchurch residents would gather for concerts on a Sunday afternoon.

A spacious staircase leads to a large peripheral gallery where an extensive collection of tropical plants are displayed such as Dieffenbachia, Peperomia, Hoya, Banana palms, Anthurium and Dracaena.

It contains the most extensive publicly owned collection of cacti and succulents in New Zealand and also includes a diorama painted by Gordon Gee, the sign and label writer for the Botanic Gardens from 1956 to 1974.

Built-in the 1960s, Gilpin House is a modest-sized conservatory featuring tropical collections of Orchids, Tillandsias, Bromeliads and carnivorous plants.

The gardens and the wider area of Hagley Park provide a central city refuge for up to forty species of introduced and native birds.

Able to digest larger fruits and broadcast the seed, the pigeon has a key role in native forest renewal with its thudding wingbeats heard well before it is seen.

Other native bush-dwellers are the sleek olive green bellbird, more often heard than seen, and the acrobatic New Zealand fantail which flits about in search of insects.

[20] The observatory was famously used by both Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic teams to make magnetic surveys in preparation for their expeditions.

[22] The Kate Sheppard Memorial Walk opened in 1990 to commemorate a pioneer who fought hard to achieve the right for New Zealand women to vote.

[24] Upon repair, the kiosk temporarily housed the Enchanted Garden exhibition by artist Jenny Gillies but is now the home of the Canterbury Horticultural Society.