Museum unveils new Canada GardenA permanent living tribute to Canada’s indigenous flora
Gatineau, Quebec, June 26, 2002 — The Canadian Museum of Civilization today unveiled a new garden design for its front Plaza. The new permanent garden — named the Canada Garden — marks a change for the 5,500-square-metre Plaza that is the foreground of the spectacular Canadian Museum of Civilization. In recent years, the gardens on the Plaza have been replanted annually to reflect changing themes based on the Museum’s special exhibitions. The new Canada Garden will now serve as a permanent living tribute to the country’s native flora and geography.
The Garden will also celebrate the interaction of nature and culture with the display of eight dynamic sculptures by notable Canadian artists of the 1970s and 1980s, on loan from the Canada Council Art Bank. The sculptures were chosen by Museum and Art Bank representatives and the Garden’s landscape architect, and they will be on display for two years. The works are by artists from across the country and represent diverse aspects of the Canadian imagination.
“The Canada Garden will add a new dimension to this already beautiful Plaza,” said Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. “This display of native plants brings colour, fragrance and symbolism to our entrance. It also provides an opportunity for visitors to see some of the rich natural heritage that is part of Canada’s development. The modern sculptures remind us that nature and culture are essential and interconnected aspects of our civilization,” he added.
All of the plants in the Garden are native to Canada and have been chosen for their significance to Canadians throughout history. Native flora has played a major role in our evolution as a country. Plants have been important sources of food and medicine, native trees are still the basis for much industry — especially in the Gatineau-Ottawa region — and many plants and flowers have acquired symbolic importance for Canadians.
The Canada Garden features each of the provincial and territorial flowers. It includes other key species such as Labrador tea, the Arctic poppy, the pin cherry, the Christmas fern, lily of the valley, the large-leaved aster, the jack pine, trembling aspen and the sugar maple, as well as a variety of herbaceous shrubs. The Garden’s 1,858 square metres of raised beds will hold 34 different plant species, for a total of nearly 4,000 plants, and more will be added as the Garden flourishes in the coming years.
The Canada Garden will allow for lush and hardy four-season vegetation from year to year that will eventually create interesting microclimates and provide shade on the Plaza. Some space will remain for annual plantings to accompany special CMC exhibitions. Most recently, the beds were planted as an Indian garden to complement the popular 2000 exhibition, India — The Living Arts.
The Plaza is an integral part of the Museum’s universally celebrated architecture, designed by Douglas Cardinal, and the new garden design respects the building’s contours and sightlines and preserves the view across the Plaza and the Ottawa River.
Media Information:
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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