Gold, Maintenance (over 1,500m²), Landscapes of Distinction Awards 2025. Nelson. By Kūmānu Environmental.
Miyazu Gardens celebrate the sister-city relationship between Nelson and Miyazu in Japan. Opened in 1995 on the site of the old Nelson tip, they are a premier garden in Nelson City Council’s open-space maintenance contract, and much loved by locals and visitors.
The Nelmac Kūmānu team brings the design principles of a Japanese garden to life, charm, asymmetry, borrowed scenery and balance, with expertly tended gardens, mirror ponds, Japanese specimens and New Zealand natives, meandering paths, bridges and seating. Sixteen hours a week of skilled, seasonally adjusted maintenance keeps the raked sand, gravels and thriving pond in immaculate order, celebrating thirty years of guardianship.
Why it matters
Every Registered Master Landscaper has earned the right to carry the mark, so the professional you hire is current, accountable, and backed by a national association that stands behind its work. Find a Registered Master Landscaper at masterlandscapers.org.nz.
Project credits
Member: Kūmānu Environmental. Landscapes of Distinction Awards 2025.