Reford Gardens- Les Jardins de Métis

Reford Gardens and their Annual International Garden Festival

I recently enjoyed learning about Reford Gardens in Grande Metis, Quebec, when Alexander Reford spoke at a recent  Landscape Ontario Annual Landscape Designer Conference.

Alexander gave a fascinating talk about the history of the gardens that made up part of his family history.

The original property in Grande Metis was given to Elsie Reford by her Uncle in 1918. Elsie Reford is Alexander Reford’s great-grandmother. Having grown up visiting the property, she began designing and gardening there and expanded it by purchasing neighbouring land and farms. She worked hard to improve the soil and build the gardens, which took over 10 years to create.

Alexander was responsible for creating a not-for-profit organization that purchased the property from the Quebec government in 1995. I think there is a lot of reasons to visit this historic site, to see which plants are thriving there, as a designer to learn about how gardens of this size were designed. And to see the space through fresh eyes of the art installations on display during their festival.  I really hope to visit during their Annual International Garden Festival and see their famous Blue Poppies. I hope I have inspired you to go as well. If you have already been please give me your impressions in the comments section below. In the meantime, I have included several pictures of the gardens.

Click here for more information about the Gardens.