January 29, 2010 -- Jack Frost may be nipping at your nose, but Montréal’s Botanical Garden has lots in store – or in their greenhouses- all winter long to warm the cockles of your heart! From indoor tours to outdoor activities, the botanical gardens thrive throughout the winter months with fun for the whole family.
Step in from the cold and stroll about the 10 exhibition greenhouses featuring year-round permanent and thematic exhibitions highlighting seasonal plants and flowers. Travel to different parts of the globe as you tour the 4 000 m2 of fabulous plants, representing over 12 000 species, varieties and cultivars.
Just when you need a lift from the wintertime blues, butterflies swoop in for a visit and “Go Free” in the Main Exhibition Greenhouse. From February 18 to April 25, 2010, you won’t be able to help but smile as thousands of butterflies and moths cheerfully flit about. The theme centres on New World butterflies and moths this year, featuring splendid specimens from North, Central and South America. You can even learn about fair-trade butterfly farming while you are there. A definite hit with the young…and the young of heart!
You may see an entirely different species of “night owl” at the Garden during the Montréal All-Nighter (part of the Montréal HIGH LIGHTS Festival). Admire moths by night, tour the greenhouses, enjoy French folk music and learn a few Latin dance steps along the way with dancing demonstrations right into the wee hours of the morning.
Of course, the Botanical Garden is the place to be when the sap starts to run! “Sugaring off” is a great Québécois tradition and at the Tree House and Arboretum, they do it in fine style! On weekends from February 27 to April 5, 2010 and daily from March 1 to 5, 2010 (just in time for local school break), explore the Arboretum, learn about the art of making maple syrup and enjoy local maple products, including a complementary maple drink!
Outdoor enthusiasts and twitchers (birdwatchers) flock, just like the birds they watch, to the Garden in the winter to enjoy 18 km of cross-country ski trails that extend through the Botanical Garden and into Maisonneuve Park. The diversity and quality of the trees and shrubs render this a prime location for bird observation. A birdwatching guide and a list of species observed is available at the Horticultural Desk and at the Tree House.
Montréal’s Botanical Garden
Butterflies Go Free
Sugaring-off Time
