Botanic Gardens’ glasshouses close for maintenance and refurbishment

Three of the six glasshouses in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens will be closed for two months for repairs from Monday 2 September, while a fourth, historic Cuningham House, will close later this year for a full heritage restoration.

Townend House, Garrick House and Gilpin House will close for strengthening and maintenance work to take place, and to enable staff to bring in plants from Cuningham House while it is being restored. 

Townend displays a range of seasonal flowering plants that include begonia, cylcamen and primula: Garrick contains the most extensive collection of cacti and succulents in New Zealand, and Gilpin features orchids, bromeliads and carnivorous plants.  

Cuningham House celebrates its 100^th anniversary this year and will be closing for a full refurbishment including earthquake repairs and extra strengthening. New lighting, misting and better climate control systems will be installed as well as modern compliance glass with thermal properties, in a way that retains the building’s heritage fabric.

“We will need to close Cuningham House for 18-24 months while this refurbishment is completed. We will have progress updates on the Council’s website and Facebook pages,” says Botanic Gardens Director Wolfgang Bopp.

“There are many tropical plants which will need to be carefully transported and relocated to the Townend, Gilpin and Garrick glasshouses ahead of Cuningham’s closure.”

The oldest and largest of the Botanic Gardens display houses, Cuningham House (originally called Winter Gardens) opened in 1924 and is a Heritage New Zealand Category 2 historic place.

“As we mark its centenary, we know people will be pleased that this much-needed restoration is taking place and will be undertaken in such a way as to preserve what is a unique and beautiful heritage building as well as providing a better growing environment which is more efficient to run,” Mr Bopp says.