Attractions in East Montreal

Montreal Botanical Garden (Jardin botanique de Montréal)

The Montreal Botanical Garden (Jardin botanique de Montréal) is a large botanical garden that represents habitats and cultures from all around the world. It is one of the largest and most spectacular botanical gardens in the world. Montreal’s Botanical Garden features over 22,000 plant species, 10 exhibition greenhouses, some thirty thematic gardens, and a dedicated team of researchers and activities staff. The Montreal Botanical Garden features plants from the four corners of the Earth. It is open year-round, including the winter months.

The Montreal Botanical Garden

The Botanical Garden was founded in 1931 as a way to educate the public in general and students of horticulture in particular, as well as to conserve endangered plant species. Located close to the Olympic Park and the Biodome, the botanical garden features an astounding array of plants and trees, as well as the fascinating Insectarium. The Montreal Botanical Garden also offers school and gardening programs as well as many children’s activities.

The Chinese garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden

The Chinese garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden is built along the traditional lines of a Chinese garden. It has many winding paths, an artificial mountain, and a Chinese-style building that houses a collection of bonsai and penjing (the ancient Chinese art of growing trees and plants, kept small by skilled pruning and formed to create an aesthetic shape and the complex illusion of age). The garden is the largest Chinese garden in the world outside China.

The Japanese garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden

The Japanese garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden is populated with Japanese plants and fauna. It features a Japanese garden with a small waterfall, quiet big pond and a Japanese-style building that contains an exhibit on tea. The Japanese tea ceremony is performed in this building during the summer. The Japanese Garden also includes a large koi pond where visitors can feed the koi fish.

The First Nations Garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden

The First Nations Garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden is populated with Canadian plants. Some of the plants you’ll find in this garden include the maple, birch, and pine trees. This garden has several totem poles and exhibits demonstrating traditional Native American artwork.

The Alpine Garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden

The Alpine Garden of the Montreal Botanical Garden has several paths winding over a rocky outcrop which is covered with tiny, delicate alpine plants.

Other Gardens of the Montreal Botanical Garden

Other gardens of the Montreal Botanical Garden include the poisonous plants garden (which has samples of various poisonous plants along with information on the effects of various doses), the economic plants exhibit, the flowery brook, and an arboretum. The botanical gardens are also the home to some wildlife; primarily squirrels, ducks, turtles and herons.

The Great Pumpkin Ball and The Magic of Lanterns

During the fall season, the Botanical Garden presents its Magic of Lanterns (Magie des Lanternes) exhibition. This exhibition features a series of lanterns that are set up all over the Chinese garden. During the month of October, the botanical garden hosts the Great Pumpkin Ball (Le Grand Bal des Citrouilles) in the Main Exhibition Greenhouse. This is an annual pumpkin-decorating contest that features hundreds of pumpkins on display.