Hamilton Gardens


Hamilton Gardens is a public garden park in the south of Hamilton owned and managed by Hamilton City Council in New Zealand. The park is based on the banks of the Waikato River and includes enclosed gardens, open lawns, a lake, a nursery, a convention centre and the Hamilton East Cemetery. It is the Waikato region's most popular visitor attraction, attracting more than 1 million people and hosting more than 2,000 events a year.
Hamilton Gardens is described in popular culture as a botanical garden, but does not technically qualify as a botanical garden. Instead, the site features 28 gardens representing the art, beliefs, lifestyles and traditions of different civilisations or historical garden styles. These gardens are grouped into the Paradise, Productive, Fantasy, Cultivar and Landscape garden collections, and there is space for gardens which are still in development.
The first development of the gardens began in the early 1960s at what was then the city's waste disposal site. The first substantial development, the Rogers Rose Garden, was opened in 1971 in an attempt to block highway development over the site. Since 1982 many newly developed areas have been opened to the public. Additional features of the gardens now include a lake walkway and a waterfall lookout.

History

Early development

In 1960, four acres of what had been the Hamilton East Town Belt was passed over to Hamilton City Council for use as a public garden. An opening ceremony for Hamilton Gardens was held on 24 July 1960. The design of this area was, and still is, firmly in the Gardenesque tradition, with specimen trees and flower beds set in flat lawns. In 1971 Hamilton was to host the first World Rose Convention. At that time Hamilton had rose gardens at the Lake Domain, but these were limited in size, so a new rose garden was established at Hamilton Gardens. It was named after Dr Denis Rogers, mayor of Hamilton from 1959 to 1968.
In the late 1970s, a new concept for Hamilton Gardens was developed. This new concept would see Hamilton Gardens depart from the traditional botanic garden model, partially because of the proximity of Auckland Botanic Gardens. The focus of Hamilton Gardens was to be on garden design, rather than on botanical science. This concept was developed in three stages through the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s to form five garden collections. The first of the Paradise Gardens were opened in 1992.

Garden development

Trusts were set up to raise funds for specific gardens, including the Rose Garden Committee, the Chinese Garden Trust, the Japanese Garden Trust, the Modernist Garden Trust, the Indian Char Bagh Garden Trust, the Italian Renaissance Garden Trust and Te Parapara Garden Trust.
In 2015, the Hamilton Gardens Development Trust was seeking to raise $7.03 million to develop the Mansfield, Concept, Picturesque and the Surrealist Gardens, and the first stage of a car park extension. A third of this was raised through a targeted rate of $10 per Hamilton City household per year for four years. Another third was secured in June 2015 from the Lottery Significant Project Funds Committee. The full funding was expected to be finalised by 2016. Other planned developments included a playground, three central courts, an Italian Renaissance Pavilion jetty and security cameras.

Awards and recognition

Hamilton Gardens Rose

Hamilton Gardens, a rose named after the gardens, was released on the market in 2008. It was discovered at Hamilton Gardens as a naturally occurring mutation of Paddy Stephens, which was a rose cultivated by rose expert Sam McGredy and like its predecessor has long stems, well formed blooms, and high disease tolerance. The New Zealand Rose Society describes its colour as "an appealing blend of apricot, pink and cream" and says it grows about 1.5 metres. The rose was selected as the 10th most popular Hybrid Tea Rose in a New Zealand rose survey 2009, and was featured at rose events at Hamilton Gardens like the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival, the New Zealand Rose of the Year and the National Spring Rose Show.

International Garden Tourism Awards

Hamilton Gardens won the Garden of the Year award at the International Garden Tourism Awards in Metz, France in 2014, after being selected by a global jury of garden experts. Previous winners of the award for "the world's great and unique gardens" include Singapore Botanic Gardens and the Gardens of Trauttmansdorff Castle in Merano, Italy.
World Garden Tourism Network president Richard Benfield praised the garden's plantings, compartmentalised design, educational value and visual impact. He said visitors were greeted with surprises in each individual garden, and the gardens were linked to the river valley and hence central Hamilton. He says the gardens were nominated for the award because of the maturity of their development, and the strategic plan the council had in place for its future development. Benfield described the gardens as unique in the world, and "visually spectacular".

Critical reception

encourages visitors to the gardens to see the "extravagant themed enclosed gardens" with "colonnades, pagodas and a mini Taj Mahal". They also recommend the pre-colonial Te Parapara garden and Ngā Uri O Hinetuparimaunga earth blanket statue at the main gates. Blogger David Farrer described Hamilton Gardens as a "hidden treasure" and a "great place to spend half a day".

Supporters

Friends of Hamilton Gardens

The Friends of Hamilton Gardens, a volunteer association set up to support the development of the gardens, have been involved in the development of most gardens and projects. Members of the association have run the Hamilton Gardens Information Centre since the early 1990s, staffing it every day of the year except Good Friday and Christmas Day.

Donors

Several trusts have helped with fundraising and organisation at the gardens. The Hamilton Gardens Building Trust raised the money needed to build the Hamilton Gardens Pavilion, the Waikato Rose Society supported the Rogers Rose Garden, the Waikato Herb Society supported the Herb Garden, and the Waikato Camellia Society supported the development of the Camellia Garden. Former Hamilton mayor Kathleen Braithwaite has been a major sponsor of the English Flower Garden and future development projects. Muriel House made a substantial sponsorship towards the Modernist Garden, and the Russian Bell Tower Trust raised the money needed for the Hamilton Gardens Russian Bell Tower.
Organisations have been involved in organising particular events. The Garden World Trust organised large Gardenworld Festivals at Hamilton Gardens, and the Waikato Garden Festival Trust has organised festivals and fundraising. The Hamilton Gardens Entertainment Trust organised the annual Turtle Lake Concert each year to raise funds for the garden's development. The Hamilton Garden Summer Festival Foundation has organised the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival since its second year, and the Pacific Rose Bowl Trust was set up to look after the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival.

Gardens

Paradise Garden Collection

The Paradise Garden Collection represents how gardeners have tried to create paradise on Earth. The word 'paradise' is derived from the Old Persian word ‘pairidaeza’ which translates to 'enclosed garden'. There are six gardens in this collection.
  • The Chinese Scholar's Garden is an interpretation of 10th century to 12th century Sung Dynasty gardens that were designed as natural spaces to spark the imagination. The garden has a tiled entrance way, a winding one way path through a corridor, a cave, over Wisteria Bridge, across an Island of Whispering Birds, past a Hidden Philosopher and through a dense bamboo forest, to the red Ting Pavilion overlooking the Waikato River.
  • The Japanese Garden of Contemplation is an example of the 14th century to 16th century garden from the Muromachi period, designed for meditation, study and quiet contemplation. The garden includes carefully laid out stones in the Abbott's Quarters, a traditional pavilion, and a vast restful pond.
  • The English Flower Garden is an example of the Arts and Crafts gardens from 19th century England which were used as plant collections and compositions of seasonal plant colours. The garden has walls and hedges creating 'outdoor rooms', seats and fountains, and the main space includes a pavilion, lawn and pond.
  • The Modernist Garden is a late 20th century American-style garden designed for outdoor living and inspired by modern art. The garden has a curved pond, yellow outdoor chairs, a raised deck and a large mural of Marilyn Monroe.
  • The Italian Renaissance Garden is based on the Renaissance gardens of the 15th century or 16th century which were used to rationalise, control and improve nature and draw on Greek, Roman, Medieval and Islamic traditions. The garden includes a Romulus and Remus statue at the entrance, an upper level under arched trellis work, a lower level with flower beds and pavilion, and an outdoor theatre.
  • The Indian Char Bagh Garden is an interpretation of the 16th century and 17th Century symbolic four-quartered Islamic gardens built by the Mughal aristocracy as an escape from harsh dry conditions. The garden consists of geometric flower beds in a range of colours, below a chalk coloured Indian pavilion.
  • The Ancient Egyptian Garden, claimed to be the world's first recreation of an Ancient Egyptian garden of ca. 2000 BC, the first decorative gardens ever created, opened in June 2022.

    Cultivar Garden Collection

The Cultivar Garden Collection is the closest Hamilton Gardens comes to being a botanical garden. Gardens in the Cultivar Collection include well-known plants which have been selected and bred for gardens at different times throughout history by collectors, breeders and speculators. There are six current or proposed gardens in this collection.
  • The Rogers Rose Garden includes rose collections from different periods in the history and development of modern roses, from species to new hybrids. The garden is one of 62 rose gardens around the world to be recognised with an Award of Garden Excellence by the World Federation of Rose Societies. Since 2001, the New Zealand Rose of the Year Trials and the Pacific Rose Bowl Festival have been held at the Rogers Rose Garden.
  • The Rhododendron Lawn features species and cultivars from plant hunting and the development of azalea and rhododendron.
  • The Hammond Camellia Garden has a range of Camellia from species to various modern cultivars.
  • The Victorian Flower Garden features tender plants selected and grown for tropical colour. The flowers are displayed in beds and glass houses, in accordance with 19th Century Gardenesque tradition.
  • The New Zealand Cultivar Garden includes native plants selected and bred for foliage colour.
  • The Dutch Renaissance Garden represents a 17th-century Dutch renaissance garden, from the golden age of plant imports and speculation.