thumb|right|Flower covered [[Volkswagen Beetle|Beetle in the Montreal Botanical Garden greenhouse, 2005]]

The Montreal Botanical Garden (, ) is a large botanical garden in Montreal, Quebec, Canada comprising of thematic gardens and greenhouses. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008 as it is considered to be one of the most important botanical gardens in the world due to the extent of its collections and facilities.

Background

thumb|left|Children at the Montreal Botanical Garden in 1941

The botanical garden is located at 4101 Sherbrooke Street East, at the corner of Pie-IX and Sherbrooke Streets, in Maisonneuve Park, located in the borough of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, facing Montreal's Olympic Stadium. It contains a greenhouse complex full of plants from around the world, and a number of large outdoor gardens, each with a specific theme. The outdoor gardens are bare and covered with snow from about November until about April, but the greenhouses are open to visitors year round, hosting the annual Butterflies Go Free exhibit from February to April.

The garden was founded in 1931,

It serves to educate the public in general and students of horticulture in particular, as well as to conserve endangered plant species. The grounds are also home to a botanical research institution, to the Société d'astronomie de Montréal, and to the Montreal Insectarium; offsite, the garden staff also administer the Ferme Angrignon educational farm and petting zoo.

thumb|Le banc des amoureux by Léa Vivot

While it charges admission, city residents can obtain a pass granting free admission to the outdoor gardens, so many people visit regularly, even if only to sit under the trees. The nearest metro station is Pie-IX, which is located on the corner of the Olympic Stadium.

The Montreal Botanical Garden is one of four nature-focused attractions belonging to the City of Montreal in the Space for Life () museum district. The others are the Biodome, the Insectarium, and the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, all of which are near the Olympic Stadium.

thumb|Un jardin à soi, Michel Goulet

Gardens

thumb|upright|left|The Magic of Lanterns, The Chinese Garden

thumb|[[Butterflies Go Free video]]

The Chinese Garden is constructed along the traditional lines for a Ming dynasty Chinese garden.

The Japanese Garden was created in 1988 under the direction of designer Ken Nakajima. Its 2.5 hectares are populated with Japanese plants, and it contains a building in the Japanese style containing an exhibit on tea. The Japanese tea ceremony is performed there during the summer, and anyone can take classes to learn more about it. Other traditional Japanese arts, such as Iaido and Ikebana are occasionally demonstrated there as well. It also includes a large koi pond; visitors often feed the koi. The garden hosts an annual Hiroshima memorial ceremony on the 5th of August, with the hourly ringing of a Japanese Peace Bell made in Hiroshima.

The First Nations Garden was opened in 2001 to honour and present the cultures of the indigenous population of Canada. Species endemic to Quebec and other North American regions are kept in the garden; the maple, birch, and pine trees shade its paths, and the garden brings into focus the medicinal and food plants of the First Nations. It has several totem poles and exhibits demonstrating traditional artwork and construction methods.

The Alpine Garden has several paths winding over a rocky outcrop which is covered with tiny, delicate alpine plants.

Other gardens include the poisonous plants garden (which has samples of various poisonous plants along with information on the effects of various doses), the economic plants exhibit, the flowery brook, and an arboretum. A maple and hickory forest is the theme of Quebec Corner, showcasing species native to Montreal and the surrounding region.

Ouellet-Robert Entomological Collection

The Ouellet-Robert Collection, abbreviated as QMOR, is the entomological collection of the University of Montreal. It is one of the most important in Canada and the second largest in Quebec, with 1.5 million specimens as of 2019. It is housed at the Institute for Research in Plant Biology (IRBV) at the Biodiversity Center, located on the grounds of the Montreal Botanical Garden.

Sport

During the 1976 Summer Olympics, it hosted the 20 km walk athletics and the running part of the modern pentathlon event.

Notable directors

  • Pierre Bourque 1980–1994
  • André Bouchard 1994–2010

References

  • Official Homepage of the Montreal Botanical Garden (in English)
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20110519110025/http://picasaweb.google.com/tanshan/PapillonsEnLibertButterfliesGoFree2007]: Photos of the annual butterfly exhibit and greenhouses (in English and French)
  • Botanical Garden photos (in English and French)
  • Lion de La Feuillée
  • Montreal Botanical Gardens: Le Lion de la Feuillée sculpture in Montreal