Wellington Botanic Garden ki Paekākā is a botanical garden close to central Wellington in New Zealand. It covers of land in a valley between Thorndon and Kelburn, with Glenmore Street as a boundary along the valley floor. One of the access points is from the top of the Wellington Cable Car. The garden is managed by Wellington City Council, and features protected native forest, conifers, plant collections, seasonal displays and an extensive rose garden. Large sculptures are located throughout the garden.
Before the garden was established, the area was used by the Ngāti Te Whiti hapū of Te Āti Awa for growing and gathering food. It was later established as a botanic garden on a site in 1868 and extended to in 1871. The Botanic Garden contains remnants of lowland broadleaf native forest. A variety of native birds can be found in the garden.
It is classified as a Garden of National Significance by the New Zealand Gardens Trust, and in 2004 it was listed as a historic area by Heritage New Zealand.
History
Wellington Botanic Garden is one of New Zealand's oldest botanic gardens. In 1847, 53 acres adjoining the 13 acres was returned to Kumutoto Māori as compensation for their land and pā bought or taken by the New Zealand Company in 1840.
The garden was established on the original 13-acre site in 1868 and extended to in 1871. The land already set aside as a reserve was formally designated as "The Botanic Garden of Wellington" with the passing of the Botanic Garden Act 1869. The garden and the land it occupied were allocated to a Board of Governors under the 1869 act. The land was subsequently vested in the City of Wellington, with the passing of the Wellington Botanic Garden Vesting Act 1891. The 1891 act also set aside six acres of the Wesleyan Reserve for an observatory. It served three purposes: a trial ground for the government to test the economic potential of various plants, a place for scientists to collect and study native and introduced plants, and a place for the public to enjoy. The New Zealand Institute planted conifers as part of a programme to import plant species and assess their potential for economic benefit to New Zealand, and these came to form a framework and shelter for other plantings.
Paths were laid out, native plants from other parts of New Zealand planted, and trees and plants labelled, "giving them popular Maori names instead of their scientific appellations [as] it would indeed be a pity not to see the native names of the New Zealand flora perpetuated as long as possible". The first map of the garden, by John Buchanan in 1875, also included a list of all plants growing there and a survey of native plants indigenous to the reserve.
alt=map|thumb|1920s map of the Botanic Garden, showing location of the duck pond and Pipitea, Pukatea and Waipirau Streams
Wellington City Council began managing the garden in 1891, tidying up and developing various parts of the garden to improve public amenity. The garden became more popular with the public after the cable car began operation in 1902 and trams started running along Glenmore Street in 1904. The council constructed a tea kiosk at the top of the cable car (1904), a playground near Anderson Park (1905), a band rotunda near the duck pond (1907), and a fernery (1911). Public toilets were installed and staff buildings constructed.
Features
thumb|Treehouse, the Education and Environment Centre of the GardenThe garden contains many discrete collections including the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, rock gardens, cacti and succulents, an Australian garden, camellias, dwarf conifers, a fernery, a herb garden, a grass collection and a fragrant garden. Educational facilities include the Treehouse visitor centre and a discovery garden used for school visits, as well as talks and demonstrations by gardeners on topics such as 'pruning roses'. There are historic wooden and brick buildings formerly used as gardeners' accommodation, workshops and stables. Climbing roses grow around the colonnade that surrounds the garden. The flowering season stretches from November to April. The World Federation of Rose Societies awarded the garden a 'Garden of Excellence' award in 2015. The Norwood family made further donations for landscaping around the Begonia House and rose garden during the 1970s and 1980s. The Begonia House consists of two wings holding tropical and temperate plants including orchids, begonias, cyclamens, ferns and epiphytes, connected by a central atrium. A café was added to the east wing in 1981, and the west wing was extended in 1989 with a large lily pond with fish and water lilies.
In November 2024, Wellington City Council announced that it was considering demolishing the Begonia House, citing unspecified safety concerns, but in May 2025, the Council voted to preserve the Begonia House. Refurbishment is expected to cost $11 million and will include replacement of all the glass, repairs to the glasshouse structure and renovation of the staff facilities, public toilets, café and kitchen. A volunteer group, Friends of Wellington Botanic Gardens, will raise additional funds to pay for internal and external lighting, landscaping and events spaces. Donations by the public are to be recognised on an etched glass panel in the middle foyer of the glasshouse.alt=People watching outdoor performance|thumb|1984: Theatresports at the Sound Shell
Sound Shell
The Sound Shell Lawn was originally a teaching garden, then a rose garden. A wooden band rotunda was built in 1907 and in use until the concrete Sound Shell was built in 1953. The Wellington Bands Association proposed construction of the Sound Shell as a memorial to bandsmen who had fought and died in World Wars 1 and 2. A plaque on the structure states: "In commemoration of bandsmen of the Wellington District who served their king and country and of those who also made the supreme sacrifice. 1914–1918. 1939–1945. "Their sound is gone out into all lands" Psalm 19 v4." The Sound Shell and lawn form a sheltered area that has been used for many types of event, including band performances, music concerts, Christmas carols, open air dancing, plays, weddings and dance displays. During the summer Gardens Magic season, people picnic on the lawn, and trees around the area are lit up.
thumb|The Dell behind the Begonia House. A wooden stage can be seen in the background behind the lawn
The Dell
The Dell is a flat, sheltered lawn area of located behind the Begonia House. It is available for hire and has been used for a wide range of events including large picnics, music performances, outdoor theatre and outdoor cinema.
Duck pond
The duck pond is a naturally-formed pond, fed by the Pukatea and Pipitea streams, and has been a feature of the Botanic Garden since 1868. In times past it was known as the Frog Pond, the Lily Pond and the Swan Pond. In 1996 the pond was enlarged and reshaped, and its surroundings were upgraded with a small pavilion, wetland garden and lookout points. In 1998, landscape architect Stephen Dunn of Boffa Miskell won a silver award for his redesign of the pond, in a competition held by the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects and the Landscape Industries Association of New Zealand.
thumb|The duck pond
James Hector Pinetum
James Hector planted 127 species of conifers throughout the garden in the nineteenth century, with a view to finding out which species might be economically useful in New Zealand. Some of the conifers planted in the garden in the nineteenth and early twentieth century have since been classified as endangered in their natural habitats but have thrived in New Zealand, with Pinus radiata becoming a major export. Some pines and conifers have since been removed from the main garden to make space for other types of planting.
On Arbor Day 1992, the James Hector Pinetum was officially opened by then governor-general Dame Catherine Tizard in an area of the garden between Glenmore Street and the Mariri Road entrance, to commemorate Hector's work. Several governors-general have since planted pine trees in the pinetum. A memorial to James Hector was unveiled in the pinetum in 2004. In 1994 the lantern was adapted to house the Hiroshima Peace Flame in recognition of Wellington's nuclear free status.
In the 1990s, Wellington Sculpture Trust began a project to place sculptures in the garden. The result is the Botanic Garden Walk, a loop walk through the garden that takes in six sculptures, including one by Henry Moore.
Treehouse visitor centre
The Treehouse is a visitor and education centre, shop and administration centre located in the middle of the gardens. The facilities include a seminar room and exhibition area. The Treehouse was built in 1991 in a partnership between Wellington City Council and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). WWF had its national office in the building and delivered education programmes from there, but moved out in 2010.
The New Zealand Tree Register lists noteworthy native and introduced tree specimens in the garden, for example a Pinus pinea planted around 1870 as part of the Botanic Garden's early role in assessing the economic potential of introduced species. The genetic value of trees like this has increased since their decline in their native habitats.
A threatened species garden next to the Treehouse education centre displays native plants that are under threat. A 'Top 10 trees' list in 2013 described the tree: "a circular platform formed by branches at the top of the "trippy tree" gives sweeping views of Wellington. Authorities are wary of drunken antics at the site". In 2014 the Draft Management Plan for the Botanic Garden recommended removal of the tree, but in a submission on the plan, the Friends of the Wellington Botanic Garden stated: "We are aware of the difficulties with the ‘bucket tree’ and note its planned removal. It is, however, a garden iconic feature known to many visitors who comment favourably when they see it." In 2022 the tree was fenced off, with a sign stating: "please do not climb me – my branches aren’t as strong as they used to be".
Wildlife
A variety of native birds can be found in the garden. One notable bird is the kākā, a large native parrot that has become common in the garden since a breeding programme was established at Zealandia. The increased number of kākā has led to serious damage to historic redwood trees and Norfolk pines in the garden, as the birds peel off bark to get to the trees' sap. In March 2024, two mature redwoods planted around the 1870s had to be removed from the garden because of decay caused by kākā damage.
Glowworms are visible some nights along paths in the main garden near the duck pond, and visitors can take a tour to see them. The concert series continued at the Sound Shell and in 2024 celebrated 44 years of concerts. The series is titled Gardens Magic and also includes a light show. The date of the event was decided months in advance due to the organisation required, but sometimes the tulips reached full bloom earlier or later than the scheduled date because of the weather. Tulip Sunday in Wellington began in 1944 with between 10,000 and 20,000 tulips on display and music provided by a band. The event received a boost in 1948, when the Netherlands government gave 25,000 tulip bulbs to Wellington in recognition of New Zealand's welcome to Dutch refugees after World War 2. In 2024, Wellington City Council advised that since it had changed to a more sustainable planting scheme, it would no longer hold Tulip Sunday.
Conservation
Under the framework of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, the Botanic Garden acts as a reservoir for plant diversity and preservation of species, and provides seeds and cuttings of plants to researchers, conservation groups and gardeners. Instead of using gas heaters to warm the glasshouses, piped hot water from electric heat pumps is used. In 2024, the garden announced a new planting scheme in the main garden. By changing the irrigation and mix of plants on display, the garden will become more sustainable, shifting from planting every six months to planting only every three to five years.
Low-toxicity chemicals and natural predators such as ladybirds (which eat aphids) are used to maintain the health of roses in the Lady Norwood Rose Garden.
Visitors and tourism
The Botanic Garden is a popular attraction for visitors to Wellington and rated in the top five visitor attractions in the city by Lonely Planet in 2024. In 2023, Wellington City Council reported that the combined total number of visitors to Wellington Botanic Garden and Ōtari-Wilton's Bush reached 1.3 million annually. In 2025, it was stated that there were around 238,000 visitors to the Lady Norwood Rose Garden, Begonia House and café annually.
At the top of the hill, the Cable Car Entrance gives access from the top of the cable car route. The Wellington Cable Car runs between the top of the Botanic Garden and Lambton Quay in Wellington's central business district. A wide paved path provides a popular downhill route through the garden, taking about 30 minutes to walk from the Cable Car Entrance to the Founders Entrance.