What makes Cornwall Park so special?

Cornwall Park is one of New Zealand's biggest, busiest and beloved city parks in the middle of urban Auckland.

The New Zealand Gardens Trust has just awarded the park five stars for their gardens and named it a Garden of National Significance.

The park has been operational since the early 1900s when it was gifted to New Zealand by Sir John Logan Campbell, CEO Murray Reade told RNZ's Summer Times.

The park, run by a trust and funded by an original endowment from Logan Campbell, spans 172 hectares, 70 of which are a working farm.

“We've got a fully operational farm, we've got 7000 to 9000 trees. we've got 25,000 to 35,000 plants we plant every year, three kauri stands.

"And we get probably in excess of 2 million people a year, we think that's conservative, using the park,” Reade says.

The NZ Gardens Trust has built a national network of gardens, both private and public, assessed by horticulturists and landscape architects.

Five-star Gardens of National Significance are recognised for their presentation, design and plant interest throughout the year.

Other five-star gardens around the country include Olveston in Dunedin, the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, Wellington Botanical Gardens, and the Winter Garden, Dunedin.

“So, we're very privileged, I think, to be perceived in that cohort of gardens,” Reade says.

The farm employs three full-time farmers and an apprentice who run cattle and sheep, he says.

‘We've got around about 100 head of cattle, simmentals, they're a particular breed, they're large animals, but very docile given the nature of the environment they're in. And we've got about 1000 head of sheep.”

Cornwall Park is famous for its flower gardens, he says, each year they plant 25,000 annuals and 10,000 bulbs.

They also manage native flora and fauna, with a number of significant kauri groves.