Gisborne Gardens

Gisborne Gardens Gisborne is a public garden that dates back to 1874.

It is located next to the Gisborne Aquatic Centre, north of Robertson Street. The gardens occupy 5.1 hectares between Aberdeen Road and the Taruheru River, which is the oldest reserve in Gisborne. It is open every day and has toilet and picnic facilities in adjacent parklands. Pedestrian access is from the bridges over Jacksons Creek on both the Western and Eastern sides of the Gardens. The plan for the gardens is based on the former sister city relationship between Gisborne New Zealand and Gisborne Australia. The gardens are a work in progress and require ongoing funding for completion.

In the garden, you can see representatives of many New Zealand genera, including Hebe and Pittosporum. The gardens are being developed to include many more collections from different countries. You can enjoy walking through three sister city gardens - the Australian garden, the Japanese garden, and the Palm Desert garden.

The Australian Garden, the first "sister city garden," features a collection of the native flora of Australian regions with a similar climate to Gisborne. The Japanese Garden is inspired by the relation with Nonoichi, Ishikawa. It is landscaped in a traditional Japanese style and features a Japanese Tea House. The Palm Desert Garden features plants of the Palm Desert region in California and holds the Cacti Collection, partly in the Glasshouse.

Other gardens include the New Zealand Native Bush garden and Riverside garden. You will also find various works of art such as the Desert Haiku - a gift from the people of Palm Desert, created by Michael Watling in 2001. Andesite boulders from