Garden Review: Kingsbrae, St. Andrews

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A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I would tell you about the fabulous Kingsbrae Garden that I came across while visiting St.Andrews, N.B. this past summer.

This 27-acre public garden has 50,000+ plants in many themed gardens with a sprinkling of sculptures.



The grounds were donated by John and Lucinda Flemer. And the gardens were built on the grounds of a turn of the century estate. The garden cafe still remains from the mansion.

In 1998 Kingsbrae Horticultural Garden Inc., a not-for-profit organization, opened to visitors. The existing cedar hedges (100 years old), flower beds and old growth Acadian forest became the setting for the themed gardens.
The garden has received many Canadian and international awards of excellence. The garden staff is very committed to horticultural excellence, the environment, tourism, and best of all local involvement of New Brunswick and Canadian Maritime communities. As Lucinda put it: “We had an architect to do the plans but the garden itself was all done with unskilled labour [troubled teens and abused women]. It was terrific”
All the gardens are designed to be accessible to people of all ages and abilities.
Some of the themed gardens: include a white garden, a knot garden, a heritage orchard that has old apple varieties , a drought resistant gravel garden and a therapy garden. The next door senior residents have free access to this garden; welcome to work in it or simply to enjoy a fragrant and colourful visit.
The Scents and Sensitivity garden is designed in cooperation with the Canadian Institute for the Blind. The waist high raised garden beds feature plants chosen for their scent or texture designed for the visually impaired. All plant labels are in Braille, English and Latin.
Here is a functional windmill (1/3 size) that circulates water through the two duck ponds. There is also a hands -on Children’s garden with a Victorian playhouse I wrote about a few weeks ago.

This was too cute to miss.

Just four days before we came an alpaca ( a relative of the llama) gave birth to a cria (her baby).
There was also an edible garden from which you were actually encouraged to taste.
And flowerpot people:

Now this was most fascinating:


In appreciation for the Flemers contribution to the region, the town of St. Andrews’ presented Kingsbrae with a Wollemi Pine. It is one of the world’s oldest and rarest trees (that’s why it’s in its own cage). The living fossil dates back to the Jurassic Age (no, not the park) and was discovered in Australia’s Wollemi National Park.
Every year Kingsbrae scour the world for new ideas for gardens. This past season (2009) they decided to hold a Canadian Sculpture competition. I liked the juxtaposition of art in nature.
First Place was Kerry O’Toole’s :  Canadian Geese in Flight. I’m sure they’ve already landed in the south.



My favourite part of the gift shop was at the cafe’s far wall. I think these ceramic pieces were beautiful.

Content and photo © Judy Weiss 2009. All Rights Reserved.