Saskatchewan’s Government House can take people on a trip through time inside the museum. However, once you step outside, you step into an oasis that is the Edwardian Gardens.
The Government House that stands along Dewdney Avenue today was first established in 1891 and sat on over 50 acres of land. While serving as residence for the lieutenant-governor, it operated as a farm for a few decades.
“You had to be self-sufficient around that time,” says Gareth Evans, Programming and Visitors Services supervisor at Government House. “In fact, Amédée Forget actually won quite a few awards for the food that was produced here at local festivals.”
Forget worked with George Watt who has head gardener of the grounds from 1894 to 1921. Both keen gardeners who would take trips to Banff, Alberta to collect saplings of trees and other plants to bring back to Saskatchewan.
“Their aim was to create this oasis in the prairies,” says Evans.
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Watt also played a massive role in planting many trees and tending landscapes across Regina that are still standing today.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Government House began selling off acres of land as it was transforming into a garden. Today the property is spread out across eight and half acres with several different garden beds spread out across the historic grounds.
“We’ve got the platinum jubilee bed. We have the ceremonial circle. We have the reconciliation bed. We also have the liberation gardens or Netherlands bed. We have the herb garden, vegetable garden,” says Davis Hunks, Horticulturist with the Provincial Capital Commission.
He says the gardens are laid out in the traditional Edwardian style. “It tends to be a little bit more romantic, so you’ll notice lots of curving round and meandering paths.”
Each bed and planter features a different arrangement of flowers and plants with different significance.
People are able to get free guided tours of the gardens during its operational hours.
Provincial Affairs Reporter Katherine Ludwig walks through the garden in the video above to better understand how the colourful plants bring the grounds to life.
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