New Zealand gardens



The Botanic Garden in Christchurch is nothing like the gardens in Asia. The vast space, the debris on the ground, vivid colours of flowers, and giant cabbage trees are some of its distant features. It’s like a wild soul being open to imperfections. Peaceful. Calm. Nothing is in harmony, but a diversity of plants is mixed but not matched. Flowers of different colours are arranged so close to each other that they are trying so hard to stand out among their “competitors”.  

Plants are sculptured and well-arranged with a perfect balance of leaves, petals, and trees in Asian gardens. New Zealand gardens are not manicured in this way at all. My friend told me he found the beauty of dead roses. This belief is definitely shared by many kiwis. New Zealand gardens are not meant to look perfect and can be full of dead leaves or withering flowers.

Now I understand why my friend structured his garden not in a “perfect way” like the Japanese garden. It is wild, untamed, disorganised. A bit of sadness with a touch of beauty.

People appreciate the life cycles of plants, just like people grow old and still love each other. The angle of sunlight is also taken into consideration in the design and the irregular placement of plants enables the gardens to be admired from different perspectives.


Click to see the Christchurch Botanic Garden

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