Urbane Jungle

Impressions of greenery in Wellington.




Cities, especially dense ones, are often stereotyped as joyless "concrete jungles". But they don't have to be like that, and this gallery shows some examples of vegetation on and around the buildings of central Wellington. These aren't traditional parks or gardens, but street trees, roof gardens, planter boxes, ivy and so forth, showing that even heavily built-up parts of cities can be alive with greenery, without the need for extensive "open" space.

Carpark Gardens

 'Carpark Gardens' - the Hope-Gibbons carpark from below

Ebor St

 Ebor St townhouses covered in creepers

Oak Park
Ave

 Ivy-covered building in Oak Park Ave - in the way of the bypass

Tennyson St

 Balconies in Tennyson St

Wakefield St
YHA

 Creepers enliven a blank wall of the Wakefield St YHA

Frederick St

 Ivy-covered houses in Frederick St, Te Aro

Grey St

 Trees in the street and on buildings, Grey St

Molesworth St

 Café outside the High Court, Molesworth St

Lambton Quay

 Street trees, with cabbage trees on athe podium of a high-rise, Lambton Quay

Plimmer Steps

 Plimmer Steps from the top

Plimmer Steps

 Pub tables by Plimmer Steps

Victoria St

 Pocket park with 'hole-in-the-wall' coffee shop, corner of Victoria St and Manners St

Victoria St

 Planter boxes screen a carpark, Victoria St near the corner with Mercer St

Willis St

 A miniature garden above shops in Willis St

site maintained by Tom Beard