Another beautiful day in the neighbourhood.
We desperately need rain,
but it's hard to be mad about a warm sunny October day!
We have a couple important bits of news for you,
and lots of pretty scenery to share as well.
Fasten your seatbelts!
First, a list of some of the current highlights:
• Roses: Partial bloom - still a highlight.
• Perennials in various places around the Gardens are providing colour and interest.
• Shrubs & Trees: Our Albizia (Silk Tree) is blooming for the first time ever, and the Seven Sons beside it is open (both to the right of the main path towards the rose garden). A little further along, watch for the very rare Franklinia in bloom.
• The Lower Pond area is always a highlight in autumn. The Ornamental Grass Collection is also stunning in the fall.
• The Knot Garden has a lovely collection of dahlias.
• The Victorian Garden is a showstopper and will be a highlight for another week or so.
• Native Plant Garden - Lots of beauty.
A note about October Hours:
The Gardens are open every day (holidays included)
Operating hours: 9am-5pm (Last entry at 5pm)
And remember: no charge for kids under 18.
Be sure to pick up a scavenger hunt activity for them to work on during your walk!
The Gardens Shop is also open 7 days a week, 9am-5pm.
The Elm Tree Cafe is open until October 14 or later (TBD).
Open Friday through Tuesday, 11am - 4pm.
(Closed Wed/Thurs)
For detailed visitor information, hours and rates, please visit www.historicgardens.com
Seasonal Selections - Part 1
Who doesn't love sunflowers?
Or roses?
Or the giant Castor Beans?
The Native Plant Garden is lovely in autumn.
We have some unique new trees around the Gardens,
like this Korean Snakebark Maple.
And the dahlias are wowing visitors every day!
Dyke News!
We are happy to announce that our long anticipated dyke upgrade
is due to start in just a couple weeks.
Yaaaaaaayyyy!
If you remember, in recent years we have had some serious flooding from dyke overflow during the highest of tides.
Thankfully, the Historic Gardens was one of the 16 sites chosen as part of the Nova Scotia Dykelands System Upgrades Project, through which the province is making significant investments to strengthen the resilience of the dykeland system to help protect against damage caused by rising sea levels and storm surge events. This is great news for the Historic Gardens and the tens of thousands of visitors who travel to Annapolis Royal annually to visit us.
We've been working with the Province over the last four years through the design phases and are so pleased that construction will begin around mid-to late October. Construction will take approximately one month to complete. As with any construction project, there may be some impact in terms of noise or dust for Garden visitors - but thankfully the work is being done very late in our season.
We are very thankful to the NS Department of Agriculture's dykeland program for their important work in maintaining the province's many dykes, including ours.
Further information: Dyke Upgrade - Historic Gardens Project
Community News!
Great to see the new EV charging station is open in Annapolis Royal. Four "fast charge" spaces, all within an easy walk of the Historic Gardens and of pretty much everything in Annapolis Royal.
You will find this station on Highway 1, just northeast of the traffic lights, at the entrance to the French Basin Trail. A quick walk up to the traffic lights, hang a left and you are a couple hundred feet from the Historic Gardens. Likewise, you are an easy walk to the downtown area.
Wonderful that people have a place to get a "fast charge" while they enjoy all that our community has to offer!
Seasonal Selections - Part 2
The Lower Pond area is stunning!
The Governor's Garden in the morning fog...
Courtyard Colour - the vivid orange of the Katsura Tree.
You may catch a whiff of its sweet autumn aroma as you come in...
Devil's Walking Stick...
Did I mention that the Lower Pond area is stunning?
October Events!
We have a couple iconic events every October in the Gardens.
Be sure to come out for these unique experiences!
The game of conkers involves, quite simply, a chestnut on a string. Well, two actually, as each person in the duel requires the same armament. The objective – to break your opponent’s conker. Sounds simple, but it is actually quite difficult and makes for great fun for participants and spectators alike.
The 2025 North American Conker Championship will be held in front of the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens on Saturday, October 18, as participants vie for the coveted Crofton Chalice. Registration begins at 9:30am with the competition kicking of at 10:30am sharp! No experience necessary! Competitive rounds for age 8 to 108 - practice area available for younger kids and any adults who want to try their hand in a non-competitive environment.
We are also looking forward to some Hallowe'en fun in late October. Details will follow, but save the date for some Skelebration magic on October 25 & 26!
Unique Trees!
The Historic Gardens has many unique trees that add colour and interest in autumn.
We wanted to highlight three of them which are located together on the main path between the Innovative Garden and the Rose Garden.
They are, in order...
The Seven Sons (Heptacodium miconioides), native to China.
In September you may have noticed the white flowers. Now we are enjoying the colour of the very showy, rose-pink calyces. Also note the exfoliating bark. The Seven Sons is a rare tree and thought to be nearing extinction in the wild.
Next, you will see our relatively new Albizia julibrissin, commonly called mimosa or silk tree.
Native to Asia, its leaves have a fern-like appearance and the fluffy, pink, powder puff flowerheads are fragrant and attractive to bees.
And the third of these is the Franklin Tree (Franklinia alatamaha)
which is coming into bloom now with its large "fried egg" flowers.
The Franklinia, a small flowering tree in the tea family, is said to be among the rarest trees in the world and is extinct in the wild. In 1765 William Bartram and his father discovered a unique tree along the banks of a river in Georgia. In 1791, he wrote, “We never saw it any other place, nor have I ever seen it growing wild, in all my travels, from Pennsylvania to Point Coupe, on the banks of the Mississippi.” He collected seeds and brought them back to Philadelphia. His collection of the species was timely; within 50 years, the tree was extinct in the wild. All living Franklin trees—which Bartram named for family friend Benjamin Franklin—are descended from the seeds Bartram collected.
Something new!
These 150 piece mini puzzles by Downtown Sketcher feature Nova Scotian views and are packaged in a beautiful tin. Also created by Downtown Sketcher, we have some great tote bags featuring artwork of the Historic Gardens.
The Gardens Shop is open 7 days a week for your convenience,
from 9am-5pm. Drop by soon!
Remember, you can always explore our online shop for gift ideas from the comfort of your arm chair!
Explore now!
Elm Tree Cafe
In late September, we welcomed our last Backroads group of the season. Backroads bicycle tours (and some hiking tours) have been visiting the Historic Gardens several times a week all summer long, and enjoying a buffet lunch at the Elm Tree Cafe.
Thanks for coming Backroads... see you next year!
In addition to some great luncheon items,
the Elm Tree Cafe is well known for its homemade sweets and treats.
And oh, what a view!
The Cafe is open to Garden visitors and members.
Current hours: Friday through Tuesday 11am-4pm.
The Cafe will close for the season in mid October - date TBD.
We love our Critters!
Not a common sight in the Gardens,
we had a Great Blue Heron in the Courtyard Pond early one day last week.
Donations to the Gardens
The Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens Society is a registered charity whose purpose is stewardship of these Seventeen Acres of Paradise. Without the charitable donations we receive every year, the Gardens could simply not exist. We encourage you to support the Society in this important work to help to ensure the Gardens continue to blossom for future generations.
Please consider a donation today!
And to close...
Even the peonies are providing fall colour.
Like this!
The foggy mornings are special.
More foggy morning beauty.
Interesting leaves like the Chinese Mayapple really stand out.
And the Ornamental Grass Collection is simply gorgoeus in the fall!
Hope to see you in the Gardens soon. Don't forget your camera!
Trish
“The earth laughs in flowers”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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