News

For many Nova Scotians, summer is the ideal time to tour Nova Scotia and take in the breathtaking scenery of our province. From the rolling hills of the Cabot Trail to the sandy shores of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia is known for its natural beauty. For the second time, Tourism Nova Scotia is highlighting the provinces botanical beauty with the Garden Road Trip with one stop featuring the gardens on the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus.

The Garden Road Trip is one of many “road trips” found on Nova Scotia’s provincial tourism website. These “road trips” are a series of themed adventures with helpful suggestions highlighting different features in Nova Scotia. With road trips ranging from outdoor activities, food, lighthouses and summer theater, they are designed to help travelers make the most of their Nova Scotian vacation. With no official guide or structured tour, travelers can select the preference of their road trip and all of the must-see destinations are suggested for them.

Last year, the Garden Road Trip was added to the list of road trips. It features nine different gardens from around the province, including Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Gardens. The Garden Road Trip was developed to increase garden tourism in Nova Scotia and to highlight the beautiful gardens and the hard work of gardeners from around the province. The tour runs from the beginning of May until the end of September when the gardens are most vibrant. This year, the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Gardens are also part of Canada’s Garden Network and are featured on their website as a garden attraction, placing them on a national map for garden travelers.

The Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Gardens were included in Nova Scotia’s Garden Road Trip to highlight the high quality of the horticultural features that exist on the campus. Senior Instructor, Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and contact point for the garden tour Jeff Morton, is very excited about the opportunity The Garden Road Trip provides for the campus.

“The tour has helped highlight the campus to the community,” Morton explains. “It directs attention to the quality of our campus and provides opportunities for potential students to see what the campus has to offer.”

Boasting more than 148 acres of an extensive plant collection, Dalhousie’s Agricultural Campus features a Rock Garden, Herb Garden and Alumni Garden. Along with public booking and catering opportunities, the gardens acts as a tool for the Environmental Horticulture and Landscape Architecture programs at the university. The garden staff maintain a high level of vigilance in the maintenance standards to service the Horticulture and Landscape Architecture teaching programs and in anticipation of summer visits by the general public.

As part of their mandate, the Faculty of Agriculture is very supportive of the Garden Road Trip and hopes to continue to engage the community by bringing visitors to the campus for many years to come.  As the Garden Road Trip enters its second season, it continues to lead travelers to the Agricultural Campus Gardens that proudly represent the community and the Faculty of Agriculture.

For more information about Nova Scotia’s Garden Road Trip, please visit, http://www.novascotia.com/explore/road-trips/gardens. Guide cards are also available at visitor information centers across the province. For information on Dalhousie Agricultural Campus’ gardens, please visit, www.dal.ca/ourgardens.

Don’t miss your opportunity to view our gardens during our Community Open House July 23, 2015.  Dal.ca/agopenhouse