Botanica Whangārei

The Snow Conservatory was built in 1970 with donations from the Snow family and was named in memory of Stanley John Snow M.B.E, a well-known local citizen, to honour his valuable contribution to the city over many years in civic and other fields.

The conservatory is home to a wonderful collection of tropical and subtropical plants and is the perfect spot to take time out of your day and whisk yourself off to a tropical hideaway complete with birdsong and the gentle cascade of the waterfall. The displays are changed every so often.

The Cconservatory’s foyer was built in 2000, it replaced the original foyer. The foyer was partially funded by the Whangārei Ladies Garden Club Inc in-conjunction with us.

The fernery, opened in December 1987, is named and dedicated to Marge Maddren, a stalwart of conservation in the Whangarei area and founder and past president of the Whangarei Native Forest and Bird Protection Society.

The society donated money for the building of the fernery and often volunteered with yearly working bees.

The fernery boasts one of New Zealand’s largest collections of native ferns found in New Zealand and its offshore islands. It has three shade houses and a linking tunnel, ponds and a small waterfall and courtyard area.

The central pond is home to three large eels which are fed every second or third day.

Within the fernery is the Finn Bruce Filmy Fern House. This is a purpose-built adobe brick house that is home to a small collection of New Zealand native filmy ferns.

The room is air-conditioned and is misted twice a day as the filmy ferns like cool damp conditions.

The Cactus House extension was erected to commemorate the 50^th Jubilee of the Whangarei Ladies Garden Club Inc in 1977.

The extension was made possible by donations from the Whangarei Ladies Garden Club and a bequest from the Late Mrs S J Snow.

The recently refurbished Cactus House uses passive solar heating to recreate the hot arid conditions that cacti and succulents revel in.

The Japanese styled garden was put in in 2013 with the help of a group of students from Pompallier Catholic Collage.

The large magnolia and the ginko tree were the backbone of the design and then everything else was incorporated in to make up a Japanese tea garden. It is a lovely area to sit quietly or meditate.

Within the Japanese garden is the small temperate garden which house’s a small collection of bromeliads, palms, a large Bear’s Paw fern and a large hoya.