Broadfield Garden is a private, New Zealand-designed landscape garden on the Canterbury Plains, roughly 3.5 hectares in size and about a twenty-minute drive from Christchurch. Established in the early 1990s, it has spent more than thirty years maturing into a place of inspiration, restraint and exceptional care — recognised by the New Zealand Gardens Trust with a six-star rating, its highest honour for gardens of international significance.
New Zealand natives are at the heart of the design. A young kauri forest of more than 100 kauri trees grows alongside a wide range of native forest trees, shrubs, climbers and ferns, with a large beech forest featuring prominently. These are combined with New Zealand-raised varieties of azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias, plus seasonal highlights such as peonies, daffodils and lilies. Around 1.5 kilometres of tōtara hedges frame and define the space, creating rhythm, shelter and structure throughout the year.
The garden unfolds as sixteen distinct areas, each with its own character — among them a 140-metre reflective canal, a 120-metre New Zealand border, a sedge pond, a formal rose garden, a viewing mound and a cricket oval. Visitors often remark on the sense of quiet, the flow between sections, and the way each area feels distinct yet part of a harmonious whole. Broadfield is open year round on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm, and by arrangement at other times, with admission of $20 for adults and no charge for children.
Broadfield Garden sits on the Canterbury Plains around twenty minutes' drive from central Christchurch, yet it feels a world away. This privately owned, New Zealand-designed landscape garden covers roughly 3.5 hectares and was established in the early 1990s. More than thirty years of planting, shaping and careful editing have produced something rare: a garden of both ambition and restraint, rated six stars by the New Zealand Gardens Trust — the level reserved for Gardens of International Significance.
That rating is not given lightly. Six-star gardens must hold the highest levels of presentation, design and plant interest throughout the year. Broadfield's answer is depth and variety: sixteen distinct garden areas, each with its own character, flowing together as one harmonious whole.
New Zealand native plants play the central role in Broadfield's design. A young kauri forest — home to more than 100 kauri trees — grows alongside a wide range of native forest trees, shrubs, climbers and ferns, while a large beech forest features prominently across the property. The natives are combined with New Zealand-raised varieties of azaleas, rhododendrons and camellias, and layered with seasonal highlights such as peonies, daffodils and lilies, so there is always something in bloom, in texture or in sculptural form.
Structure comes from an extraordinary 1.5 kilometres of tōtara hedges, along with other hedging species, which frame and define the garden rooms — creating rhythm, shelter and a sense of progression as you move through the property.
Visitors often comment on the sense of quiet, and on the way each section feels distinct yet part of a whole. The 140-metre reflective canal is perhaps the most memorable moment — still water doubling the sky and the planting above it. The 120-metre New Zealand border is a deep dive into native planting design. Elsewhere you'll find a sedge pond, a formal rose garden, a viewing mound for taking in the broader composition, and even a cricket oval — a reminder that this is a garden made for living in as much as looking at.
Sculpture sits within the plantings, and the blend of formal and informal styles gives the garden a contemporary identity with a strong New Zealand character: designed, yet rooted in the local landscape.
Broadfield opens year round on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8.00 am to 4.30 pm, and at other times by arrangement — worth knowing if you're travelling with a group or visiting on another day. Entry is $20 for adults, and children visit at no charge.
The garden is child friendly and dog friendly, offers wheelchair access and toilets on site, and guided tours are available. For large groups, accommodation can be arranged — bookings are essential, so make contact ahead by phone on 0274 334 099 or by email.
Finding Broadfield from Christchurch is straightforward: take SH1 south to Hornby, turn left into Shands Road, travel 6km and turn right into Selwyn Road — the garden appears on your right after 2km.
Whether you come for the kauri, the canal or simply the quiet, Broadfield rewards a slow walk. It is a landscape to experience rather than merely look at — a place designed for pause, reflection and connection with nature.