A Visit to the Montreal Botanical Garden
Because of time constraints, Judy and I only got to see a modest portion of what is on offer at the Montreal Botanical Garden. Its 185 acres of indoor and outdoor spaces provide rich opportunities for exploration. For this post, I want to focus on the Aquatic Garden.
The entrance area is full of planters overflowing with bright flowers and foliage.
The orange Cannas were particularly attention-grabbing.
I like the contrast of the flamboyant plants and plain metal containers, though as Judy pointed out they do look sort of like they were originally used for trash disposal.
Soon after we entered the grounds we came to the Aquatic Garden.
The design here was really clever. Sunken paths traveled between rows of concrete raised “beds”, each containing a different aquatic environment and a different plant. This gave us a close look at the various species in the collection.
Unfortunately, the water lilies were pretty much done. However, they had some interesting seed pods.
We had never seen water hyacinths (Eichornia crassipes) before; I was impressed by their beauty.
This garden has over 200 aquatic species.
There was a diverse mix of exotics and plants native to Quebec.
Cranberries! No picking allowed, though.
Cattails.
Plus lots of cool fountains.
More posts soon on the Montreal Botanical Garden.
gardeninacity 
What a beautiful place! And it’s still looking great in late summer–that takes great planning. Thanks for sharing some of the highlights!
I would love to go back in May or June.
185 acres?! Holy moley, that’s big. If I had that much water I would definitely have those variegated cattails. I think the water lily seed pods you showed are actually lotus flower pods – aren’t they great?!
They have a lot of stuff going on. In addition to so many different kinds of gardens, there is an insectarium, a biodome, and a planetarium.
I really enjoyed looking through the photos of the Montreal Botanical Gardens….surprisingly not all that different to parts of our Australian Botanical Gardens….but I guess more indoor areas. Well, 185 acres must keep a lot of people busy!
I have no doubt that it does!
Thanks for the tour. I didn’t know about this place.
Perhaps you’ll get a chance to visit.
What a clever arrangement! Those fountains look so welcome on hot, sultry summer days. Love the lotus flower pods and the cattails.
The flower pods are really striking.
Not having a water garden I find them and the plants you can grow in them fascinating. I have seen water hyacinths before but never in bloom. I didn’t even think about them blooming. They are quite pretty. The lotus are taking over several ponds in our area. Gotta be careful with them. I have never seen variegated cattails before either. The building in the first photo looks like it is tethered so it won’t blow away. ha…
I am not really clear on the distinction between lotus and water lily, to be honest. That building makes me nervous, I wouldn’t want to be up at the top.
How do they hold that building from falling down !!!!??
That’s what I want to know! All I can say is I’m not standing underneath.
neither am I !!! 😀
We visited there a few years ago and I really loved it…there was so much to see…but I doubt we even scratched the surface…as you mentioned…it’s huge!
Yes, we have to plan a return trip!
Andrew and I spent our honeymoon in Montreal, however it was December so we didn’t make it to the Botanical Garden. I look forward to your coverage!
A very romantic city, isn’t it?
It is! Even under a foot of snow…
Impressive! Can’t wait for more.
That is a big place …. the water gardens look well thought out though, accessible and fun.
Very much so.
Looks like great place to explore, but I can also imagine just sitting on that bench in front of the fountain for a long, long time. Great photos!
Thanks. I wish we had more time to spend there. You could easily visit every day for two or three days.
I’d love to see all those aquatics!
You would appreciate this place. Amazing collections.
This is one of my favorite gardens in the world, second I think only to Kew. I have photos of those same water hyacinths; love them. Did you get to the Chinese garden with its tall aquatic lotus flowers growing beside a boardwalk? They have those same seed pods, only gigantic!
We did get to the Chinese garden – it’s in the next post!
A great garden to explore. Interesting water plants.. Variegated bulrushes? I like the look of those.
I did too.
Hello Jason, it’s awful but when I saw the picture of the wire-strung dome, I wanted to go a long with a pair of scissors and cut a few of the “ropes”. I would have loved to have seen the water lilies at their best, they’re one of my favourite (in a long list of) plants.
I just wanted to keep out of its way, it looked like it might slide down.
The Canadians really love there Canna. Here, they use them liberally in gardens too. Like you, I especially like the orange ones at the entrance.
I like them, but they never flower consistently for me.
Awesome water photos! I love the plants, and the layout is cool… and so much less kneeling to get a good look… but it’s a lot of concrete!
True, it is a lot of concrete. Maybe they should try to soften it with moss or vines. It has sort of a “brutalist” look.
A garden I do not see often…some nice water gardens and interesting displays.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg.