The Oamaru Public Gardens has retained its five-star rating, acknowledging it as a garden of national significance.
The assessment was conducted by the The New Zealand Gardens Trust, which assesses gardens and judges their significance.
The Oamaru gardens, created in 1876, were first rated five stars in 2021, marking it as a garden of national significance for three years.
Now it has renewed that ranking and will hold it until January 2027.
Lead assessor Jan Woodhouse said the assessment team were "inspired and humbled" by their visit.
The gardens were the "result of hours of work by passionate, creative, and knowledgeable people".
It was commended for its historic and contemporary plantings, including the recently created wildflower area.
The range and variation in the scale of spaces and planting schemes was also praised, as was the ongoing restoration of the glasshouse.
The assessors recommended expanding the wildflower area and planting more along the stream.
Five stars is not the highest ranking — the rating system ranges from three stars to six.
A three-star garden is considered notable, four stars is of significance, five is of national significance and six of of international significance.
There are 61 gardens across New Zealand with a five-star rating, and 19 with six stars, including the Dunedin Botanic Garden and Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden.
The Oamaru Public Gardens has about 1200 plants across its nearly 14ha and about 50 different species in the wildflower section.
A Waitaki District Council spokesman said there were plans for a new water and sand play area for children, as well as ongoing renovation for the display house.
