Auckland Botanic Gardens

Situated on the southern boundary of Auckland, the botanic gardens make for an enjoyable day out regardless of one's interest in plants and horticulture. Many people come to the gardens, whose entry is free purely for a relaxing walk but for some of us the gardens are an exciting little grotto of plants from all over the world. Aside from a good display of tree ferns both native and non-native the gardens boast a broad range of palms, arid plants, trees and conifers. In this article we will take a look at what the gardens have on offer.

We'll start by taking a quick look at some tree ferns. Well you've got to start somewhere haven't you!

This trio of Cyathea cooperi (below) are growing in a fairly dry and exposed area. They have unusually bulbous trunk bases. I'm not sure why this is. It almost looks like they may have been dug up and moved here from somwhere else.

This is another grouping of cooperis still growing new fronds well into autumn.

This further grouping of cooperis is in a much more sheltered, shaded and cooler location with the luxuriance of the fronds being evidence of that.