Spring

You'll find more colours at The Gardens than in the best crayon sets. The Easter long weekend (April 22-25, 2011) brings out the bunnies. Kids can take a special map from the Admission gate and head out on a hunt to find the ceramic bunnies. After marking their locations on the map, they can return to the Info Centre for an Easter treat. This is also the time for them to enter the contest to win a great prize.

Maybe it would be a good time to drop by and see Tacca in the Piazza and rub his nose for a bit of good luck to help you find all the bunnies. 

Autumn

With the autumn leaves falling and cooler days to come, this is a marvelous time for kids to come and admire the fall colours. Bring the family dog and make it a family stroll. 

In Japanese gardens of old, wild boars could cause havoc. The Japanese designed a special boar scarer. When you enter the Japanese Garden stop and listen for the sound of someone chopping wood at a very slow speed, then see if your children can find our boar scarer.

Of course, Tacca our boar, is a statue so he never wanders into the gardens. You'll find him in the Piazza.

Spring Prelude

As if by magic, our creative and hard working gardeners transform the Blue Poppy restaurant into a springtime wonderland. Pathways are created, soil is brought in, bulbs and trees are planted and ponds created. Just about everything is brought indoors except tree houses. Even though it may be too early for spring flowers outdoors the indoor display will give you a sense of what will soon be here.

In the former home of the Butchart family an Historical Display is created. Five rooms are decorated with original furniture and artifacts from the early 1900s to the current day. For parents the displays are great to point out things your parents or grandparents used to use or wear. No computers, no iPods and no televisions, but you'll see early phonographs, games that involved the whole family and musical instruments.

Summer

Each summer evening the Concert Lawn fills with visitors who enjoy the on-stage performances. On Saturday nights a grand Fireworks Display follows the Concert Lawn performance on an adjoining lawn. You'll find it hard to believe this complicated theatrical performance of fire on water and land, complete with music, is all controlled by hand firing.

Christmas

Join in the tradition of so many families and stroll the various gardens all decked out with Christmas lights which come on at dusk. Maybe you'd like to skate on our outdoor ice rink first, then walk about? Just be sure to book your 40-minute skate time when you first arrive. Test your memory with the Twelve Days of Christmas displays. If you can't remember all the parts of the song, don't worry as you are likely to hear others singing it. At the end of your walk you can head to the Coffee Shop for a hot chocolate, then wander to the Piazza and listen to the carolers and festive brass. 

December 1st Free Carousel Rides
Carousel rides will be complimentary December 1st. Admission to The Gardens is required.

During our Christmas season (Dec 1, 2010 - January 6, 2011), kids are welcome to bring a paper snowflake to the Visitor Information Centre and exchange it for a complimentary hot chocolate coupon to use in the Coffee Shop. If the snowflake is made of white paper and not bigger than 8 by 11 inches, you may find it decorating one of our windows.