Lucky Kingsbrae Garden visitors hit the rails in style, for Montréal
Kingsbrae Garden has been part of the VIA Rail Garden Route promotion and contests since its inception in 2006, one of fifteen stellar Canadian gardens and the only one in New Brunswick.
As VIA Rail says: “Rich colours and perfumes await you. Visiting a garden is like taking a trip across space... and time. As earthly expressions of a particular era, climate or culture, gardens contain secrets longing to be discovered. When you travel the VIA Rail Garden Route, you are opening yourself to the secrets of Canada's most astonishing flower gardens. Go for the pleasure of cultivating your senses, your passions... or even your garden!”
The winners from this year’s contest at all the participating gardens each receive a luxurious VIA 1 trip for two to Montréal, with meals, two nights’ accommodation at a boutique hotel (Hôtel Place d’Armes for the Kingsbrae Garden winner) and two passes to the Montréal Botanical Garden.
This year, Claire Eagles, staff member in the Kingsbrae Garden Café, drew the winner from many thousand ballots posted over the summer. Kerry Parker of Saint John was the lucky recipient of the trip, to be taken in summer of 2010. Claire came to Kingsbrae as a co-op student, working in the bright and historic Café, where she has found her niche, helping to keep things clean and tidy and assisting the servers with their routines.
For those not fortunate enough to have won the trip, VIA extends the invitation to “Take your first steps down the garden path. Located from Victoria to Halifax, the Garden Route is a series of 15 magnificent gardens and 30 Communities in Bloom, all winners of the prestigious 5-Bloom award.” Kingsbrae Garden is pleased to be in the company of such flourishing perfection, coast to coast.
In the past, the contest has included the International Flora Montréal Mosaïculture and Toronto’s Canada Blooms Home & Garden shows. Now that Communities in Bloom has come on board, the reach of the VIA Rail Garden Route has extended further into smaller towns and communities as well as larger centres, stretching a verdant floral connection across Canada, highlighting the excellent gardens in all provinces.
The Montréal Botanical Garden, VIA Rail and Communities in Bloom, along with all the participating gardens and their regional partners all encourage the enjoyment and rewards of horticulture, gardening and landscaping. Kingsbrae’s local partners are Fredericton Botanic Garden, New Brunswick Botanical Garden and Historic Gardens of Nova Scotia at Annapolis Royal. According to a recent study in Alberta, “almost all households walk for pleasure (93.0%) and close to three-quarters take part in gardening (72.1%).” Hundreds of thousands of Canadians and visitors combine these two activities in strolling around public gardens each year. The educational component, obviously beloved by many, as evidenced by the preponderance of home & garden improvement books, newspaper articles, television and radio shows, is another large factor in gardens’ popularity.
You only need to be at Kingsbrae Garden for a few minutes to see the appeal for all generations and interests, with a Children’s Fantasy Garden, dozens of sculptures and a new Sculpture Garden, a cedar maze and labyrinth, alpacas, peacocks, ducks, 8 acres of virgin Acadian forest and over 50,000 perennials, shrubs & trees in many themed gardens. Throw in treasure hunts, croquet or bocce ball on the main lawn, Chef’s Culinary Herb & Gravel Gardens, historic architecture and Pericles, Canada’s first “Jurassic Living Fossil” wollemi pine and there’s something for everyone. Round off your trip with afternoon tea or a decadent dessert at the Garden Café, with gorgeous garden and sea views, for a day to remember.
