The Glog (Garden Log) is written by Alexander Reford, Director of Les Jardins de Métis and
The preparation of the garden for the season begins in earnest in April. The greenhouses are now filling up with plants and the gardeners will be wielding their secateurs and pruning saws to prune the crabapple trees. The preparation for the 2012 season are well underway.
April usually brings encouraging signs and the first rays of sunshine. This is especially true for us this year, with the recent announcement that the Gardens are one of the 17 Wonders of Québec….and the people’s choice for the Lower St. Lawrence region. In this special 50th anniversary year, it is especially encouraging that so many Quebekers choose us among the hundreds of sites and attractions across the province. The same competition, run by Léger Marketing for the Quebecor media chain, revealed that 29% of Quebekers had visited the gardens, less perhaps than the Oratoire St Joseph in Montréal or the Musée de la civilisation in Quebec City, but a remarkable number all the same.
This recognition is welcome, particularly as we take the road in the weeks ahead to promote the gardens. We are just back from Canada Blooms where the garden by asensio_mah won the award for most original design and was the most photographed garden in the show. Our presence is a key to our efforts to promote the gardens in Toronto and attract more visitors to the region from southern Ontario.
As part of our promotional efforts, I will be speaking about the gardens and the Festival in Montreal (Les Belles Soirées at the McCord Museum on Wednesday, April 11), in Vancouver (Tuesday, April 24 at the University of British Columbia and Thursday, April 26 at VanDusen Botanical Garden) and in Victoria (Horticulture Center of the Pacific on Friday, April 27).
Look for the hour-long special dedicated to the gardens on Tour du jardin on Historia (a specialty channel in Quebec) on Sunday April 29 at 6 pm and re-broadcast in the days following (Monday 2 pm, Tuesday 4 pm, Wednesday 10 am, Thursday 3 pm and 2 am, Friday 11 am, Saturday 5 am and Sunday 7 am). Join garden expert Albert Mondor and animatrice Geneviève Rioux for a guided tour led by Alexander Reford. Hundreds of viewers contacted us after its first broadcast in February to tell us how much they enjoyed the program and its revelations about the gardens and its plants. Click here to get to the description of the show.
2012 - On the way to 50th anniversary of the Reford Gardens
Les Jardins de Métis (Reford Gardens) are preparing an ambitious program of anniversary activities and special events in 2012 to include exhibitions, concerts, garden parties, theatrical performances, lectures, circus events, culinary evenings, a festival of flavours, literary teas, musical brunches and the 13th edition of the International Garden Festival are all on the menu for 2012.
We are appealing to the public to play a special part in the celebrations by sharing your photographs and memories with us for a virtual exhibition that shows the gardens over the past 50 years. We are appealing to visitors to share your photographs, videos and memories of the gardens. They will be used in a special exhibition to be launched early in 2012 that will be displayed on the Virtual Museum of Canada.
The gardens were officially opened to the public for the first time on June 24, 1962. First called Le Domaine Reford and then Parc Métis, les Jardins de Métis quickly become known around the world for their extraordinary beauty and exceptional botanical collection. They are one of the leading attractions in eastern Québec and one of Canada’s premier garden destinations. The summer of 2012 also marks the 125th anniversary of Estevan Lodge, the historic fishing camp at the heart of the Gardens.
How to Participate in our 2012 Exhibition Project
Photographs submitted by the general public will become part of a virtual exhibition. To participate in the exhibition, please send us your photos, slides or other souvenirs of your visit electronically by email at archives@jardinsdemetis.com or by mail to:
2012 Exhibition Project
Les Jardins de Métis
200 Route 132
Grand-Métis, Québec G0J 1Z0
All photographs will be scanned and returned to the owners (please identify them with your name and date if possible). Contributors to this exhibition will be invited to the opening of the 2012 exhibitions in June. This project has been made possible through a grant from the Community Memories Program of Canadian Heritage. Click here to view some images that will be part of the exhibition.
A Season's Pass to the Reford Gardens provides you with:
Give generously to Les Amis des Jardins de Métis
and contribute to the preservation and development of the Reford Gardens
Donations are used entirely for environmental, education and cultural programs and for our ongoing efforts to restore the gardens and heritage buildings we own. Your contribution, whatever its size, will assist us in our efforts. Please give generously.
A Coastal Nursery to Protect the St. Lawrence Shoreline
Since 2010, the Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis has been working with the Comité ZIP du Sud-de-l’Estuaire to inform residents in coastal areas of the importance of protecting the banks of the St. Lawrence River and its tributaries. The Gardens have led efforts to preserve the shoreline ecosystem by protecting and planting sea lyme grass on its own property and making plants available to others to allow them to undertake their own plantings and shoreline restoration. The planting of sea lyme grass (Elymus arenarius) is one of the solutions proposed by the Comité ZIP to combat coastal erosion along the St. Lawrence. The information meetings held by the Comité ZIP in the region regarding coastal erosion and the damage caused by the December 6, 2010 storm has created a demand in the region among citizens who wish to plant sea lyme grass on their seashore properties. The Jardins de Métis has responded by creating a coastal nursery to produce plants for residents, municipalities and environmental groups.
Sea lyme grass is a native plant that grows naturally in coastal areas in Quebec and throughout the Atlantic and circumpolar regions. The plant plays an important role in the ecology of sea shores. By its rhizome and its deep root system, the sea lyme grass holds the soil around it and colonizes areas along the coast. The plants can often be found growing naturally along hundreds of meters of shoreline. This native plant is resistant to the effects of waves and ice and grows through the accumulation of driftwood and litter from the sea. The sea lyme grass is a vigorous species that tolerates perfectly dry soil, wind and salt spray. It is also increasingly used in urban plantings and has proven resistant to road salt, as evidenced by projects in Rimouski (Promenade de la mer) and Quebec City (Promenade Samuel-De Champlain). The sea lyme grass is as effective as other strategies such as massive boulders and stone walls, a solution much more costly and less aesthetic, and that increases damage to adjacent coastal areas that have not been protected with stone walls.
This project has been made possible by financial support from several organizations:
Pacte rural de la MRC de La Mitis / Walmart – Evergreen Green Grants
Fonds d’investissement communautaire TELUS / Caisse d’économie solidaire Desjardins
Projet Eau Bleue RBC
In collaboration with
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Must-see Attractions of the Gaspesie Package - 3 nights
Riotel Matane - Percé - Bonaventure
Discover the natural wealth of the Gaspe Peninsula, thanks to the Must-see Attractions of the Gaspesie!
The Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis : Known for their unique combination of the traditional and the futuristic, the Reford Gardens/Jardins de Métis are recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding gardens.
Bioparc : To visit the Bioparc is to discover the natural diversity of the Gaspé Peninsula through five unique ecosystems: the Bay, the Barachois (tidal pools and bars), the River, the Forest and the Tundra.
Exploramer is an activities complex focused on the marine environment of the St. Lawrence River.
PACKAGE INCLUDES:
3 nights’ accommodation (Riôtel Matane, Riôtel Percé, Riôtel Bonaventure)
3 table d’hôte dinners
3 breakfast
Gratuities
Admission to the Must-see Attractions of the Gaspesie
(Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens, Bioparc, Exploramer)
Package valid from June 4 to September 30, 2012
INFORMATION AND RESERVATIONS:
> Visit the Website of Riotel
> Call Riotel at 1 888 GASPESIE
> Send an email to riotel@riotel.com
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