As residents of southern Ontario, we are fortunate to have easy access to Canada’s largest botanical garden.
Royal Botanical Gardens, located at the western tip of Lake Ontario, contains four distinct formal gardens with 1,100 hectares of nature reserve.
From beginners to veteran horticulturists, RBG has something for everyone. Of course, simply the beauty of the gardens is worth paying a visit, but there are many other attractions awaiting visitors.
There is a full menu of attractions, including food, music, theatre, education and art.
This past April, the RBG Rock Garden opened to high praise. The Hamilton Spectator called it, “A jewel. Unparalleled beauty. Absolutely incredible. A year-round treasure. Spectacular.”
At the opening, Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger spoke of climbing the rocks as a child. He called the $20-million rejuvenated garden absolutely spectacular.
From Aug. 10 to 21 is Shakespeare at Rock Garden theatre presentation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Another must-see at the RBG is the Centennial Rose Garden, which opened in 1967. It contains modern hybrid roses that are suitable and hardy for growing in local conditions. You will see roses in colours that range from pure white, cream, buff, yellows, apricots, oranges, pinks and corals and reds.
Two other popular gardens include Hendrie Park and Laking Garden. Hendrie Park contains great plant collections and landscape features. Laking Garden is home to RBG’s herbaceous perennial collections.
There truly is something for everyone at Canada’s botanical jewel.
To find out more about the Royal Botanical Gardens, go to http://www.rbg.ca.
