Public Gardens Guide 2006

Public Gardens
Guide 2006
Public gardens beautify the landscape and educate home gardeners on bloom
times and plant species. Our guide shows you a handful of destination nurseries and
19 gardens that reflect the province’s spirit and multicultural heritage.
Public Gardens
Beaulieu
707 13 Ave SW, Calgary.
403 244 6333
Open daily from 7 a.m. to sundown.
A 2.8-acre estate encompassing the Lougheed
House, the restored gardens at Beaulieu
attempt to recreate a historically accurate
garden similar to those that flourished during
the occupancy of Senator James Lougheed
and Isabelle Hardisty.
P H OTO BY M A R I A N N E B R U C E
Botanic Park
265 Sturgeon Rd, St. Albert.
780 458 7163
Open year-round.
Located on historic river lots 42 and 43, the St.
Albert Botanic Park offers visitors over 18 acres
of garden—eight acres are fenced in and the
other 10 are natural. The Botanic Park boasts
the largest rose garden in northern Alberta.
Brewery Garden
Brewery Hill and 1 Ave, Lethbridge.
403 320 3020
Open year-round.
This is a beautiful display of rock gardens and
thousands of vividly coloured flowers, which
change with the season.
A butterfly rests on a sunflower in Helen Pacholko Park, Fort McMurray.
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Cascade Gardens
317 Banff Ave, Banff.
403 762 1550
Open July to early September.
Tranquil pools, mountain vistas, majestic pavilions
and the colourful array of flowers have made the
Cascade of Time Gardens a favourite attraction
since 1936. The gardens feature more than
50,000 flowering plants.
Danish Canadian National Museum
and Gardens
Spruce View.
1 888 443 4114
www.dancanmuseum.ca
Open from May to the end of September.
Over seven acres of traditional Danish gardens
commemorate Danish pioneers in Canada. Both
flower and vegetable gardens are featured. A
children’s garden features sites found in the
stories of Hans Christian Andersen. A coffee
house and gift shop welcome visitors.
Devonian Botanic Garden
Devon.
780 987 3054
www.devonian.ualberta.ca
Open from May to December.
Established in 1959 by the University of Alberta,
this garden includes an authentic Japanese
garden, a First Nations garden, floral gardens,
native and alpine plants, and ecological reserves.
Gardens are connected by paths and extend
over 80 acres with an additional 110 acres of
natural areas.
Devonian Gardens
317 7 Ave SW, Calgary.
403 221 4274
Open year-round.
One of the world’s largest indoor gardens, the
Devonian Gardens opened in 1977 and span
2.5 acres downtown on three floors. The garden
features about 20,000 plants of 135 varieties.
Visitors can stroll the 1.6 kilometres of paths and
feed the fish and turtles.
Dorothy Harvie Gardens
1300 Zoo Rd NE, Calgary.
403 232 9300
www.calgaryzoo.ab.ca
Part of the Calgary Zoo, the gardens showcase
plants hardy to Calgary and the chinook zone. A
library for local gardeners, the gardens’ plants
are labelled and specialty gardens have been
created for inspiration. Throughout the growing
season, visitors can check the website to find
out what’s in bloom.
Dr. John H. Garden Memorial Park
4825 Richard Rd SW, Calgary.
403 440 7720
Open year-round.
Mount Royal College created this campus
garden to commemorate the contributions
of donors who set up scholarships in honour
of loved ones; their names are etched on a
granite monument in the park. The public space
features a continuous season of bloom, and was
designed specifically to give visitors a sense of
renewal.
George Pegg Botanical Garden
Glenevis.
780 785 3411
www.gov.lacsteanne.ab.ca/html/pegg.html
Open from June to August.
A provincial historic resource, the George Pegg
Garden is the original 12-acre homestead and
garden of pioneer and amateur botanist George
Pegg. The garden offers a rare collection of
plants and trees not normally found in Alberta.
B O T TO M P H O TO B Y D O N N A F R E M O N T, TO P P H O TO B Y M I C H A E L I N T E R I S A N O
Helen Pacholko Park
Hillcrest Dr, Fort McMurray.
780 799 5832
As the largest area in the Fort McMurray
Borealis park system’s adopt-a-park program,
this 10-acre park features a compost
demonstration garden and community garden
plots. In addition to enjoying the park’s wide
variety of species, private gardeners can
contribute raw materials to the composting
project.
Lakeland Gardens
Bonnyville.
888 773 7072
Open from May to September.
Visitors are welcome to wander through and
view the flower gardens, strawberry patch, herb
garden, greenhouse, orchard and conventional
garden. They are also encouraged to check out
the vegetables, fruit and flower trails.
Top: Dorothy Harvie Gardens, Calgary Zoo. Bottom: A resting place at Banff’s Cascade Gardens.
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B OT TO M P H OTO BY D AV I D B A L L A N T Y N E , TO P P H OTO BY J U N E F L A N A G A N
Top: A birch grove at the Devonian Botanic Garden, Devon. Bottom: A lush oasis at Vale’s Nursery, Black Diamond.
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Muttart Conservatory
9626 96A St, Edmonton.
780 496 8787
Open year-round.
Visitors can explore the world inside the
conservatory’s four pyramids. One houses a
jungle, another features a desert oasis, while
another is home to a forest. The show pyramid
presents a spectacular floral display.
Nikka Yuko Japanese Gardens
7 Ave and Mayor Magrath Dr, Lethbridge.
403 328 3511
www.japanesegarden.ab.ca
Open from mid-May to early October.
Five traditional Japanese gardens combine
trees, shrubs, rocks, pebbled beaches, ponds
and moon-shaped bridges. The pavilion offers
visitors a glimpse into Japanese culture and a
landscape of singular beauty and serenity.
Olds College Botanic Gardens
4500 50 St, Olds.
403 556 8281
www.oldscollege.ab.ca/botanicgarden
Open year-round.
These gardens opened to the public in 2002.
Visitors can view the rose garden, herb garden,
perennial border, iris dell, natural area, water
garden, alpine garden, apple orchard, Asiatic
lilies, dwarf conifer and heritage grove.
Reader Rock Garden
339 25 Ave SE, Calgary.
403 268 4781
Open year-round.
Once the site of the parks department’s
main operations, this Edwardian garden was
established by William Roland Reader when
he became parks superintendent in 1912.
The rockwork, paths and pools showcase rare
shrubs and trees. The garden is currently being
restored.
B O T T O M P H O T O B Y M I C H A E L I N T E R I S A N O , T O P P H O T O B Y M A R I LY N N M c A R A
Ukrainian Village
45 km east of Edmonton on Highway 16.
780 662 3640
Open from mid-May to mid-October.
This award-winning Provincial Historic Site
recreates Ukrainian settlements in Alberta from
1892 until 1930. Interpreters travel back in time
to become settlers in this living history. They
plant and grow beautiful historical vegetable
and flower gardens. Tours of the gardens will be
available every day during Historical Edmonton
Week, July 24–28.
Wagner Natural Area
Spruce Grove.
780 427 8124
www.wagner.fanweb.ca
The diversity of flora and fauna in this
calcareous peatland has interested Edmontonarea naturalists since the late 1940s. Plants can
be admired from the self-guided Marl Pond Trail.
Sixteen orchid species bloom in the Wagner
fens. The Natural Area (the Wagner Bog) is
open to the public, but rubber boots may be
required to complete the 1.2-kilometre trail.
Arboretum & Gardens
Trochu.
403 442 2111
Open from May to October.
This five-acre park combines a relaxing stroll
with a showcase of the community’s history
dating back to the First World War. There are
over 1,000 labelled prairie trees and shrubs.
destination
nurseries
DESTINATION
NURSERIES
Balzac Garden Centre
237 Main St, Balzac.
403 226 0220
Open year-round.
Featuring a one-acre botanical rock garden
with a lagoon, waterfall and fish, the centre
showcases chinook-hardy perennials, trees
and shrubs. Tropical greenery, bedding plants,
perennials, trees and shrubs are available for
purchase. Visitors can enjoy the tea house from
May to the end of September.
Bearberry Creek Greenhouses
and Nursery
Sundre.
403 638 4231
Open May through August. Call to arrange a
visit.
This family-run operation specializes in growing
aquatic plants. Wild and introduced species
of water lilies, irises, cannas and edge plants
mingle in the ponds and backyard wetlands of
the surrounding farm.
Vale’s Nursery
301 3 St NW, Black Diamond.
403 933 4814
Display gardens open Saturdays from June
through August.
This nursery features display gardens and a
rockery filled with hardy, drought-loving plants.
The on-site garden is a test bed for sturdy
plants able to withstand Black Diamond’s harsh
climate. #
Top: A costumed interpreter at Ukrainian Village. Bottom: Beaulieu’s gardens in Calgary.
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Leave everyday life behind
Coming May 2006
The NikkaYuko Centennial Garden
iseasilyoneofthemostoutstanding
JapanesegardensoutsideofJapan.
This book presents the opportunity to discover the inspirational
beauty and history of a garden that
has come of age, as documented
by one of its founders, Robert
Hironaka,withhorticulturalauthor
JuneFlanagan.Spectacularimages
by Van E. Christou, a renowned
photographer dedicated to recording the garden from its inception to the present, form the centrepiece of the book.
Garden of Serenity by June Flanagan & Robert Hironaka
Photography by Van E. Christou
Hours of operations
May 6 to June 30
9:00 – 5:00
July 1 to Sept. 4
9:00 – 8:00
Sept. 5 to Oct. 1
9:00 – 5:00
Adults
Seniors
Youth 6 – 17
Under 6
$7
$5
$4
FREE
Tour Groups (10 or more)
$4
Bus Driver
FREE
Our location: 9th Ave. South and
Mayor Magrath Drive in Lethbridge
(Next to Henderson Lake).
www.nikkayuko.com • (403) 328-3511
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