Christchurch's 19th-century Botanic Gardens encompass 21 hectares of New Zealand's "Garden City". Crisscrossed with walking trails and partly looped by the Avon River, the area blooms with exotic and indigenous plants, trees over a century old and manicured lawns.
Just 13 years after the official British settlement of Christchurch in 1850 an English oak tree was planted there (9 July 1863) in honour of Prince Albert Edward's marriage to Danish Princess Alexandra. Thus Christchurch's Botanic Gardens were inaugurated and since 1946 have been in the care of Christchurch City Council.