Few gardens have been created in such difficult weather conditions. Located 300 km northeast of Quebec City, the Reford Gardens, created by Elsie Reford, is one of the most northern gardens in North America.
DANS LES JARDINS DE MÉTIS
À la rencontre d’Elsie Reford
ELSIE REFORD
150 Objects of Passion
The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of Johanne Deschênes as General Director of Les Jardins de Métis. She will officially assume the role on May 20, succeeding A ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, Québec, April 15, 2025 – The International Garden Festival is proud to unveil the four winners of the 2025 RBC Residencies at La Maison d’Ariane. The residency p ... (View the event)
The Blue Stick Garden — originally created in 2000 by Claude Cormier (now CCxA) for the first edition of the International Garden Festival — is reborn as the Blue Stick Forest at Jardins ... (View the event)
The International Garden Festival is pleased to announce the projects selected for its 26th edition, titled Borders, which will run from June 21 to October 5, 2025. Ève De Garie- ... (View the event)
The International Garden Festival is pleased to launch its fifth call for proposals for the RBC Residencies at La Maison d'Ariane, in the picturesque village of Métis-sur-Mer. This call is part ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, Quebec, September 5. 2024 – The International Garden Festival is launching a call for proposals to select designers to create the new temporary garde ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, Québec, August 9, 2024 – The International Garden Festival is proud to unveil the four winners of the 2024 RBC Residencies at La Maison d’Ariane. The reside ... (View the event)
The 25th edition of the International Garden Festival, titled The Ecology of Possibility, is now open to the public. On the occasion on its 25th anniversary, Ève De Garie-Lamanque, Artistic Dir ... (View the event)
RIMOUSKI, QC, July 4 2024 /CNW/ - Conservatoire de musique de Rimouski (CMR) is proud to present the 2024 edition of its Singing Week which will take place from July 14 to 21 in partnership with the J ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis (Québec) Canada, June 12, 2024 – The team from the Gardens are working with artists, curators, researchers and organizations to offer a range of exhibitions linked to t ... (View the event)
Anniversary Program Unveiled – The International Garden Festival will present its 25th edition from June 22 to October 6, 2024, on the theme The Ecology of Possibility. For this m ... (View the event)
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the International Garden Festival, the Festival is celebrating in style with many events and activities. The Journées de réflexion [Discussion D ... (View the event)
On the eve of the inauguration of its anniversary edition, which will run from June 22 to October 6, 2024, on the theme The Ecology of Possibilities, the Reford Gardens International Garden Festival a ... (View the event)
The International Garden Festival is pleased to launch its fourth call for proposals for the RBC Residencies at La Maison d'Ariane, in the picturesque village of Métis-sur-Mer. This call is par ... (View the event)
The International Garden Festival is pleased to announce the projects selected for its 25th edition, titled The Ecology of Possibility, which will run from June 22 to October 6, 2024. On the occasion ... (View the event)
Sainte-Flavie, September 26, 2023. With the help of the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, TELUS, the municipality of Sainte-Flavie and a group of volunteers, the Jardin de bord mer II took root recently ... (View the event)
The International Garden Festival is launching a call for proposals to select designers to create the new temporary gardens for the Festival’s 25th edition, which will open on June 21, 2024, on ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, September 5, 2023 – The International Garden Festival is pleased to announce the start of the RBC autumn residences at the Maison d’Ariane in Métis-sur-Mer. The ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, August 21, 2023 – The Reford Gardens open the temporary exhibition Dernière lueur / Last Light by photographic artist Christine Fitzgerald on Wednesday, August 23. The ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, Quebec, June 24, 2023 – The 24th edition of the International Garden Festival, titled RACINES | ROOTS, is now open to the public. This year, È ... (View the event)
Grand-Métis, May 1, 2023 – Les Jardins de Métis is launching a new publication that highlights the horticultural achievements and unique plant collections of Elsie Reford. Dans ... (View the event)
Created from 1926 to 1958 by pioneering horticulturist Elsie Reford, the Reford Gardens are a National Historic Site of Canada. Some 3,000 species and varieties of plants, including the famous Himalayan blue poppy, are spread over fifteen 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. Hundreds of miles from the nearest nursery, Elsie Reford is faced with challenges that would be difficult to imagine 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.
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.
Well established in its community, the Reford Gardens are a cultural hub in the region. Literary teas, outdoor concerts, lectures, training sessions, happy hours, culinary events, outdoor hikes, environmental chores… in short, a program for all tastes.
Rooted in history, but resolutely looking to the future, the Villa Estevan Lodge restaurant, Café-Bistrot Le Bufton and the Buvette des Jardins feature inspired local cuisine. Our chef Frédérick Boucher and his brigade work with our gardeners to develop innovative dishes that evolve with the seasons and harvest.
Click on the picture to enlarge it
Discover a fantastic ally of the Reford Gardens – Pierre and his firm Umanium, a pillar for the Gardens’ museology department.
We celebrate here the passing of M. Lavoie, the first director of the Reford Gardens when it was open to the public.
Day in and day out, we get photos from visitors or see them posted and shared on social media. Now it is our turn to show off a few photos of our own.