The First Nations Garden

Outdoor garden

Onglets

Description

The First Nations Garden gives visitors the chance to rediscover the cultures of North America’s first inhabitants, and showcases their wisdom and traditions. It highlights not only Native knowledge, but also First Nations activities related to the plant world.

The people of the First Nations were ecologists ahead of their time, having developed an intimate knowledge of nature and territory.

Created

2001

Area

2.5 hectares

Taxa

300

For more information

First Nations Garden

Map

- Nordic Zone
- Summer Camp
- Inutsuk
- Softwood Forest
- Hardwood Forest
- "The Three Sisters" horticultural section
- Interpretation Pavilion
1. Nordic Zone
2. Summer Camp
1. Inutsuk
2. Softwood Forest
1. Hardwood Forest
2. "The Three Sisters" horticultural section
1. Interpretation Pavilion

Explore

Hardwood forest

The hardwood forest is dominated by sugar maples and oaks. Raspberries and blackberries also grow there, as well as hawthorn, tobacco, and herbs such as wild ginger and toothwort. You will also find the horticultural area where the three sisters grow: corn, squash and beans.

Softwood forest

In addition to pine, spruce and balsam fir trees, this forest is home to birch trees and many different plants, most of which are medicinal. You can find different types of habitat such as the teepee and the wigwam, in addition to a drying rack and a traditional cache.

Nordic zone

The taiga, or black spruce forest, and the tundra, or base rock covered with sparse vegetation, make up the entire landscape.

Interpretation pavilion

You will find the Knowledge and Know-How permanent exhibition as well as Wapikoni mobile short films produced by young people from Native communities in Québec and Canada.

History

It took three years to make Brother Marie-Victorin’s unfulfilled dream a reality. The First Nations Garden opened to the public on August 3, 2001. A committee of First Nations representatives worked in close collaboration with the Botanical Garden to develop the concept and create the garden.

Major work was necessary to build the garden, inspired by Quebec Indigenous cultures. Its zones were developed using existing ecosystems. It is the first infrastructure of this magnitude in Montréal dedicated to the First Nations.

Did you know?

Landscaping

To create the right environment for certain plants, an artificial pond was dug and lined with a waterproof geotextile membrane. It was filled with peat and a little sand, then topped off with water. Plants were then introduced into the bog.

Best time to visit

May to October

Global menu mobile en

The First Nations Garden

The First Nations Garden

Onglets

Created

Area

Taxa

For more information

Hardwood forest

Softwood forest

Nordic zone

Interpretation pavilion

History

Did you know?

Landscaping

Best time to visit