University of Alberta Botanic Garden
The University of Alberta Botanic Garden (formerly the Devonian Botanic Garden) is a stunning 97 hectare (240-acre) property located in Parkland County, 15 minutes southwest of Edmonton, with cultivated gardens and plant collections, indoor showhouses, and extensive natural areas.
The U of A Botanic Garden is an award-winning visitor attraction, a research site, and home to year-round adult and children's education programming.
Construction of the new Aga Khan Garden, Alberta, was completed in June, 2018. The 4.8 hectare Mughal-inspired garden, made possible by a gift from His Highness the Aga Khan, features secluded forest paths, granite and limestone terraces, still pools that reflect the prairie sky, waterfalls and streams. Fruit orchards extend around the large Calla Pond, and the garden contains more than 25,000 trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and wetland plants. This spectacular new garden is expected to draw visitors from around the world.
Other highlights of the University of Alberta Botanic Garden, which was established in 1959, include the Kurimoto Japanese Garden; a Tropical Showhouse with exotic butterflies; Temperate and Arid Showhouses; alpine, herb, rose, peony, lilac, lily and primula collections; Indigenous Garden; trial beds and much more. The Garden’s collections include a wide diversity of plants, with an emphasis on plants suitable for a cold northern climate, including ornamentals, fruits, vegetables, trees and shrubs.
The University of Alberta Botanic Garden is a unit of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Alberta.
Open to visitors seasonally, and year-round for education courses.
The mission of the University of Alberta Botanic Garden is to inspire connections between plants and people through curated collections, innovative education, research, conservation and experiences.
"Botanic gardens are institutions holding documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education." – Botanic Gardens Conservation International