Hamilton Gardens

Garden park in Hamilton, New Zealand

Hamilton Gardens is a public garden park in the south of Hamilton owned and managed by Hamilton City Council in New Zealand. The 54 hectare 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. 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.

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. The first of the Paradise Gardens were opened in 1992.

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.

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.

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". Blogger David Farrer described Hamilton Gardens as a "hidden treasure" and a "great place to spend half a day".

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. 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 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 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 Modernist Garden is a late 20th century American style garden designed for outdoor living and inspired by modern art. 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 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 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.

The Cultivar Garden Collection is the closest Hamilton Gardens comes to being a botanical garden. 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 garden is part of Hamilton City Council's long term plan for the development and restoration of the Waikato River.