Few gardens have been built under such adverse atmospheric conditions. Located 300 km North-East of Quebec City, the gardens created by Elsie Reford are amongst the most northern in North America.
On August 17, 2022, to celebrate the platinum jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, marking the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne, Les Jardins de Métis are proud to welcome R ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-17 Place: Arboretum Price: 0$
Come and attend the English tea ceremony as a celebration of Queen Elizabeth II's jubilee with Ricardo Larrivée, Annie Vanasse (director of the Conservatoire de musique de Rimouski) and Alexand ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-17 Place: villa Estevan Lodge Price: 200$
Dansons aux Jardins! is a choreographic journey in contemporary dance, music and sculptures that will be presented in the Reford Garens on Thursday 18 - Friday 19 and Saturday 20 August at 3 pm. Compo ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-20 - 2022-08-19 - 2022-08-18 Place: Festival international de jardins - International Garden Festival Price: 0$
Every Sunday from July 3 to August 21, from 11:30 AM to noon and a quarter and from 1 PM to 1:45 PM, the Conservatoire de musique de Rimouski will hold its musical picnics at the arboretum near the Vi ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-21 Place: Arboretum Price: 0$
For 4 days, artist François Grisé will take place in the heart of the Imaginarium - conceived in collaboration with the architecture and design firm Ædifica - to meet the public in ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-24 - 2022-08-24 - 2022-08-25 - 2022-08-25 - 2022-08-26 - 2022-08-26 - 2022-08-27 - 2022-08-27 - 2022-08-27 Place: L'espace scénique La Véranda de Pierre Thibault Price: 0$
Unpublished tribute work by Mathieu David Gagnon for Elsie Reford's 150th birthday, played with her restored violin. Elise Lavoie, a well-known violinist in the region and in Quebec, will bring Elsie ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-28 Place: L'aire Desjardins du Grand hall Price: 0$
Accompanying musicians: Cylia Themens et Jean Humpich Host: Annie Landreville With L'habitude des ruines, Marie-Hélène Voyer questions our relationship to built heritage, between her childhood in ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-08-28 Place: L'aire Desjardins du Grand hall Price: 25$
Every first Sunday of the month is a free Sunday! Les Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens are participating in the Ministère de la Culture et des Communications' measure of free admission to museum ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-09-04 - 2022-10-02 Place: Jardins de Métis / Reford Gardens Price: 0$
Born in the alleys of Montreal in 2010, the Jazz Street Boyz go straight to the point, the blues and the party. Composed by Jérôme Dupuis-Cloutier on trumpet and piano and Dominic Desjar ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-09-04 Place: Arboretum Price: 0$
Literary performance L’estran Accompanying musicians: Dâvi Simard, violin, Mili Hong, percussion and Sébastien Sauvageau, guitar L'estran was born from the encounter between poet Isabelle Miron, ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-09-11 Place: À confirmer Price: 25$
Literary performance Les racistes n’ont jamais vu la mer A collaboration with the Salon du livre de Rimouski Host: Élise Argouarc'h Rodney Saint-Éloi and Yara El-Ghadban are co-authors of the e ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-09-25 Place: L'aire Desjardins du Grand hall Price: 25$
Thierno DIALLO was born in Senegal. He tells tales from Africa and elsewhere for young and old alike, in festivals, libraries, theaters, social centers, schools, etc. Winner of the Grand Prix ... (View the event)
Date: 2022-10-02 Place: Arboretum Price: 0$
Built from 1926 to 1958 by a forward-thinking horticulturist called Elsie Reford, the Reford Gardens are one of Canada’s national historic sites. Some 3000 species and plant varieties, including the famous Himalayan blue poppy, are spread out over 15 gardens.
It’s in the summer of 1926 that Elsie Reford (1872-1967) began transforming her fishing camp on the Metis River into a garden. Located hundreds of kilometers away from the nearest nursery, she faced challenges that are difficult to conceive of today. Where experienced specialists had failed, she succeeded in turning her spruce forest into a gigantic garden that would become one of the largest plant collections of its time. Elsie hired and trained people from the region like farmers and fishing guides in order to turn them into master gardeners. Over three decades, they’ve built a magnificent garden together.
As an innovative cultural space, the Reford Gardens welcome a large number of artists each year and present an array of exhibitions scattered throughout the gardens and beyond its grounds.
The Amis des Jardins collection is based on memories and physical traces gathered by the estate owners throughout their lives, as well as on the development of a collection of contemporary works related to the historic and contemporary gardens.
Deeply rooted in its community, the Reford Gardens are one the region’s inescapable cultural poles. Literary tea parties, outdoor concerts, conferences, training, happy hour, culinary events, outdoor hikes and environmental chores… there truly is something for everyone.
Rooted in its history yet looking to the future, the Garden’s restaurant, bar and café serve as a showcase for creative local cuisine. Chef Frédérick Boucher and his crew work with our gardeners to develop innovative dishes that adapt and evolve alongside the harvest.
During the construction of Les Jardins de Métis, Elsie Reford kept a detailed record of everything that happened in her garden through 30 gardening notebooks. In order to make them more readable and accessible, Judith Webster, a passionate volunteer, has been hard at work transcribing them.
For Earth Day this year we are celebrating Louise Tanguay – photographer, environmentalist and ecologist.
The year 2022 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Elsie Reford. Les Amis des Jardins de Métis is celebrating this anniversary with a series of exhibitions, publications, concerts, lectures and special events. Among the special events is the restoration of her 17th century violin – to bring Elsie Reford’s instrument back to life so that it can be played for the first time in a century