The Canadian Garden Council today announced the  2017 launch of Garden Days ushering in 10 days of national celebration that draw attention to Canada’s garden culture in both its public and private contexts, history, innovations and environmental stewardship.   Over 20 Garden Days activities are taking place in Ottawa with hundreds programmed across the country.

“Garden Days champions the garden experience sector’s contributions to the well-being of Canadians; the sustainability of our communities; and promotes the joys and benefits of gardens, gardening, urban and municipal landscapes as well as green infrastructure. In our role as the national umbrella body for provincial and national garden organizations, we are pleased to support a new garden attraction in our nation’s capital.  The Garden Promenade exemplifies how Canadian cities can leverage garden attractions for increased visitation, community well-being, and economic growth.”  — Michel Gauthier, Executive Director, Canadian Garden Council

At the morning event at the Global Centre for Pluralism’s new Forecourt Garden in Ottawa, the Council also launched Ottawa/Gatineau’s newest garden attraction the – Garden Promenade – connecting and promoting 40 gardens and over 70 different garden experiences in the Capital.

With garden visits being the 10th most frequent activity enjoyed by pleasure travellers not to mention its appeal for 66% of tour participants, who also are likely to take in the arts, heritage and culinary experiences, as well as Canada being cited as a highly-favoured garden experience destination by international visitors, it’s expected that these tourists along with local garden enthusiasts will make up the anticipated 200,000 visitors to the Garden Promenade in its first year.  The significant potential of garden attractions to draw tourists from near and far was underscored at the North American Garden Tourism Conference, held in Toronto last March, when Destination Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Canadian Garden Council to engage tourism-ready garden experiences and development of actions, tools and best practices to market Canada’s Garden Tourism offerings around the world. Continue reading “Garden Promenade, Ottawa-Gatineau’s New Garden Attraction marks the Launch of Garden Days across Canada”

May 12 – 22, 2017; Four Locations Celebrate Everything Tulip

Hundreds of artists, photographers, florists and local performers Millions of tulips blooming inside and out

Ottawa, Canada, May 12, 2017: The Canadian Tulip Festival opened its four venue-doors today, inviting the community, visitors and the world-at-large to come and join the Festival in celebrating its 65^th anniversary. For 11 days, four Ottawa locations will host one of the biggest tulip garden parties in the world:

 Lansdowne Park Tulip Gallery – The Friendship, Floral and Art Tulip Experiencepresented by CapitalTek, features an indoor display of over 10,000 tulips in bloom, over 200 floral, art and photography exhibits and installations, an artisan marketplace, dozens of performers on stage, plus family programming and crafts created by hundreds of local school children; ByWard Tulip Park(ing) – The Urban Tulip Experience presented by Sterling Ford showcases the stylized tulips by Pop-artist Bex,  creator of the Festival’s One Tulip One Canada flag icon and the first ever wrap of Ottawa’s ByWard Market parkade with tons of interactivity and “urban tulip” photo opportunities; Tulips on the Garden Promenade – The City Tulip Tour Experienceconnects Ottawa and Gatineau’s best tulip displays with a host of escorted and self-guided tour opportunities and Commissioners Park, at Dow’s Lake , Canada’s most renowned tulip garden display. Continue reading “The 65th Canadian Tulip Festival Launches its 11-Day Celebration”