Montréal is a wonderful, cosmopolitan, bilingual city north of the border. In addition to great French culture and food, it also has one of the world's leading horticultural centers. Le Jardin Botanique de Montréal – the Montréal Botanical Garden – showcases over 21,000 species and varieties of the world's plants in 30 outdoor gardens, ten exhibition greenhouses and a huge arboretum spread over 180 acres of vibrant, lush greenery beside the dramatic arch of the famous Olympic Tower. In Les Jardins d'Accueil (The Reception Gardens) stands a statue honoring Brother Marie Victorin, who realized his lifelong dream by founding the MBG in 1931. Thanks to his vision, and the determined efforts of the landscape architect Henry Teuscher, Montreal has an ever-blooming memorial to these two men. Constructed in 1937, the Main Building, with its elegantly understated Art Deco lines, is the work of architect Lucien F. Kérouack.
The Garden offers something in every season; during the summer over 100 gardeners, horticulturists and maintenance crew work to preserve the beauty of this urban oasis. In summer visitors can enjoy a guided tour of the MBG's colorful expanse by hopping a ride on an open-air mini train which makes frequent stops and offers a bilingual commentary.
The Reception Centre, which is also the gateway to the exhibition greenhouses, is the best place to begin an exploration of the MBG and to gather information on the Garden's diverse collections. The MBG's ten exhibition greenhouses (les serres) shelter species and varieties of fragile plants arranged according to the requirements of their particular climates and cultures. La serre Molson (The Molson Greenhouse) introduces visitors to the wonders of the botanical world through interactive displays on the main characteristics of plants.
Meandering from one interconnected greenhouse another, visitors embark upon a botanical round-the-world tour, traveling from arid desert to humid jungle to alpine slopes, viewing everything from orchids to African violets, and banana trees to bonsai. Throughout the year, the Main Exhibition Greenhouse blooms with thematic floral displays which celebrate the changing seasons. Easter heralds spring with splashes of tulips, daffodils and fragrant hyacinths. Summer displays vivid beds of annuals. At Halloween our beguiling sorceress charms visitors with fiery chrysanthemums and crazily decorated pumpkins at the Great Pumpkin Ball. The Tropical Plant Greenhouse contains over 125 species of plants and trees like cocoa, banana, coffee, and vanilla which are grown as cash crops in tropical countries. Most of these species flower and bear fruit under greenhouse conditions.
The Celestial Garden Greenhouse (below) presents some of the MBG's famous collection of Chinese miniature trees. It is the largest collection of penjings (the Chinese art of landscape bonsai) outside of Asia.
The MBG has one of the largest orchid collections in the world, with over 1,500 species, hybrids and cultivars. Many of these showy blossoms are displayed during their flowering season.
The styles of the Les jardins d'exposition (The Exhibition Gardens), whether classical or flamboyant, are all of European inspiration. The gardens display hardy perennials, tender bulbs like gladiolus and dahlias, aromatic and medicinal annual plants, and even vegetables. Shady pergolas, flowering trellises and fountains grace these symmetrical lanes. Le jardin des nouveautés (The Garden of Innovations) showcases the very latest horticultural innovations, including new hybrids and cultivars, information on composting and other new gardening ideas.
The plants in le jardin alpin (The Alpine Garden), whether indigenous to the Arctic tundra, the Rocky Mountains, the Caucasus, or the high plateaus of Asia, all share the common characteristics of growing at elevations higher than 3,000 feet. Ground covering plants weave a carpet mosaic of textures and colors amidst the creeping and groomed conifers.
In spring, flowering streams explodes with displays of brilliant peonies, iris, daylilies, lilies, and aster that burst into bloom in wave-like patterns along the winding banks. The Garden's lilac collection includes some 150 species, hybrids and cultivars which release their delicate perfumes in springtime. In June the Leslie Hancock Garden bursts into bloom with hundreds of rhododendrons, heather and azaleas under the foliage of taller trees. Les étangs (The Ponds) provide habitat for wildlife, such as ducks that make their homes among the reeds. Water lilies and marsh iris bloom on the pond edges overhung with weeping willow branches.
The Arboretum covers some 96 acres nearly half the expanse of the Botanical Garden, and includes nearly 7,000 specimens of trees and bushes grouped according to botanical family and genus. There is a maple grove, pinewood forest and trees with a variety of unusual shapes. It is particularly magnificent in autumn when the the maples blaze with the fiery yellow, reds and oranges for which the Quebec countryside is so renowned. The Forest of the Montréals of France pays homage to six cities in France named after the City of Montréal.
The MBG's la Maison de l'arbre (The Tree House), which opened in 1996, highlights the value of the arboretum's collections. The daring architecture of the Tree House celebrates wood in its variety of forms. The interpretation centre has a permanent exhibit hall which introduces visitors to the world of trees, and a room for temporary thematic exhibitions on a variety of tree-related subjects. In summer, a unique collection of North American bonsai graces an interior courtyard.
Le jardin ombragé (The Shade Garden) is the natural habitat for shade-loving creepers and other undergrowth plants. Hostas with leaves of various shapes form soft cushions and astilbes send out their beautiful floral plumes.
Reflecting pools and shimmering fountains highlight the elegance of le jardin aqautique (The Water Garden). It showcases plants native to aquatic and boggy environments, such as the stinking cabbage, the delicate water lily and the spectacular and exotic lotus.
Haven of reverence and meditation, le jardin japonais (The Japanese Garden) was dedicated in 1988. It was designed by Ken Nakajima, master of Japan's modern school of landscape architecture. In springtime, the fragrance of apple blossoms permeates the air, following strollers all along the winding path. In the vast and abundantly flowering Japanese Garden, the interplay of water, rocks and plants glorifies the thousand-year-old culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. Arched bridges link islets where visitors may tarry to appreciate the harmony and serenity of the scene. Brightly-colored koi and blotched carp swim lazily in the still ponds. The pavilion at the entrance to the Japanese Garden is the work of Osaka architect Hisato Hiraoka. Built in the style of Japanese traditional houses, it hosts a variety of exhibitions and cultural activities. The Nomura Gallery displays a collection of art works featuring the paintings of the Japanese artist Masahiko Do. The Bonsai Garden parades a fabulous collection of miniaturized trees and landscapes, some of which are several centuries old. These elegant compositions were presented to the Botanical Garden by the grand masters of the Nippon Bonsai Association.
Symbol of the meeting of two cultures and the friendship between the cities of Montreal and Shanghai, le jardin de chine (The Chinese Garden) is inspired by gardens of the Ming Dynasty of the 14th to 16th centuries. The work of architect Le Wei Zhong, it is the largest garden of its style in North America. Here water and stone reign supreme. More than 3,000 tons of yellow stone which were excavated from nearby St. Helen's Island have been magically transformed into a mountain, and 500 tons of stone shaped by the waters of China's Lake Tai were transported from China to enhance the layout of this landscaped garden. Rising up in the midst of the Dream Lake Garden are seven exotic pavilions, some of which contain Oriental furniture and works of art. The pavilions were constructed in China and assembled in Montreal by a team of Chinese artisans. Miniature landscapes called penjings fashioned from rocks and bonsai grace the interior of a courtyard. Throughout the year colorful festivals raise the curtain on the splendors of Chinese culture. The Magic Lanterns celebrates autumn's fiery beauty with over 900 glowing lanterns brought from Shanghai. The Pavilion of the Stone Boat looks onto a peaceful lake panorama.
There are 10,000 roses in le roseraie (The Rose Garden). Under the shade of a variety of hardy shrubs and trees, beds of rose bushes fill the area. Among the old and classical rose varieties bloom new hybrids adapted to the rigors of the climate.
There are other museums dedicated to life sciences in Montreal that are well worth discovering the wonders of our planet. The Insectarium promises close encounters with the fascinating and rarely explored world of insects. It is unique in North America for its impressive collection of 160,000 insects and other arthropods, living and preserved. It was founded in 1990 by entomologist George Brossard, who traveled the five continents for many years collecting specimens of the world's staggering variety of insects. The architecture of this living museum is quite original: it evokes the form of a cicada! The Insectarium is dedicated to education and research.
In summer visitors can watch hundreds of Quebec butterflies fluttering freely in a garden of The Butterfly House. Two of the most familiar species are the Monarch with its bright orange wings striped with black, and the Admiral, the butterfly chosen as Québec's insect symbol.
The
Biodôme re-creates four of the most remarkable ecosystems of the North
and South American continents, showing the interdependent relationships between
animals, vegetation and minerals, all under one roof. The Biodôme
complex represents a major recycling triumph - the transformation of the
Montréal vélodrome which hosted the 1976 Olympic Games, into a blooming,
breathing "House of Life." The biggest challenges were to create and
maintain under one roof, the extreme variations of climate necessary to sustain
vastly different ecosystems and simulate "real" seasons through
control of light and temperatures. The Ecosphere houses temporary exhibits. The
Tropical rain forest, the Laurentian Forest of
hardwoods and conifers, the St. Lawrence marine environment, and the subpolar
regions of Antarctica - plants, animals, geology, climate and all!
The world's tropical rain forests contain over half of the plant and animal species on earth. These jungles are of crucial importance for the future of our living planet, but they are being destroyed by pollution and logging at an alarming rate. In re-creating a neotropical rainforest environment, the Biodôme raises its voice with those of people and institutions all over the world dedicated to saving this endangered ecosystem. The Biodôme participates in an international breeding and conservation program for the Goeldi's marmoset and Golden Lion Tamarins that are on display, with the aim of eventually reintroducing these threatened small monkeys into their natural wild habitat. Water is everywhere in the tropical rain forest. In the Biodôme, it cascades in gushing torrents onto the rocks where it explodes into a vaporous spray. A canopy of tall tropical plants expresses the lushness of a tropical forest while providing shelter for some very tiny animals.
Laurentian forest
St. Lawrence Riverway
Polar habitats
– Susan Mahr, University of Wisconsin