City Park turns over a new leaf

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/08/2021 (1527 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Assiniboine Park has turned over a new leaf by opening its Leaf Gardens as part of the Diversity Gardens project, centred around the new Leaf building currently under construction.

When finished, the swoopy-looking new building will be a replacement for the old conservatory that stood there for over a hundred years. Originally scheduled to open this year, construction delays have pushed back the opening date.

But it promises to be another architectural jewel in our crown and when complete will re-house the old butterfly garden from the zoo, as well as Canada’s tallest indoor waterfall, at over six storeys high.

However, you can still enjoy the serenity of the new Leaf Gardens. Botanical diversity is the main theme and over 12 hectares of land have been transformed into a variety of horticultural biomes, with names such as the Sensory, Performance, Seasonal, Kitchen, Grove and Indigenous gardens with a variety of plants ranging from beautiful and exotic flowers to herbs, vegetables, fruits, medicinal and other edibles. An outdoor oven facilitates demonstrations.

There’s a stage area with gently tiered seating for live performances, a huge fire pit area and water features.

There’s no charge to visit these gardens and also no charge to ride the Domo Trolley. The trolley, modelled after one of our old streetcars, operates a free service making loops of the park. It usually shuttles visitors between the park and The Forks, however limited service owing to COVID-19 restrictions this year means it will just run in the park until the Labour Day weekend.

Trevor Smith is a community correspondent for River Heights. You can contact him via email at smitht@mymts.net