Explore the Gardens

The Indigenous Peoples Garden is a gathering place that celebrates Indigenous cultures and their deep philosophical understanding and respect for nature. The garden’s design was created through a collaborative process involving Indigenous elders, designers, and community leaders. Out of this process, a vision emerged for a naturalized garden inspired by the beauty of the Manitoba landscape. Two elements, fire and water, feature prominently in the garden due to their importance in Indigenous cultures.

The garden is also providing a temporary home to the Residential School Totem Pole, created by Kwakiutl artist Charles Joseph, while it awaits final placement by the Southern Chiefs’ Organization in their Wehwehneh Bahgahkinahgohn project in downtown Winnipeg. For more information, please visit the artist's website.

Assiniboine Park is located on Treaty 1 territory within the Province of Manitoba, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota Peoples, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

The Kitchen Garden is home to a variety of vegetables, fruits, herbs, and other edible plants. It also features plantings that thematically connect the Kitchen Garden with the adjacent Indigenous Peoples’ Garden, including the three sisters (corn, squash and beans).

The Kitchen Garden will also focus on active gardening, with potential for demonstrations, classes, composting, and water conservation. The area includes a variety of themed garden beds with rotating crops, an arbour, an outdoor oven, and a variety of greenhouses for planting and demonstration.

The Johnston Family Seasonal Garden celebrates change expressed through perennial plant selections that will peak at different times throughout the spring, summer, and fall. This evolving space accommodates activities in all four seasons, featuring a garden path, water feature, arbour, and seating. A wide variety of plant life will showcase the beauty of perennial gardens.

The Performance Garden offers opportunities for visitors to enjoy a variety of different art forms while surrounded by nature. The focal point of the Performance Garden is an outdoor stage surrounding by a gently tiered and landscaped seating area. The Performance Garden is the home of the Garden Concerts at The Leaf event, which is part of the Summer Entertainment Series. 

The Sensory Garden is a feast for the senses! Engage with plants through sight, smell, touch, and sound. Points of interest include a garden bed dedicated to a rotating variety of colourful, aromatic, and tactile plant species, and hill-like topographical features replete with tall grasses that invite exploration. The Sensory Garden offers a fully involved garden experience that promotes interaction with nature in an extraordinary way.

The Grove focuses on the majesty of trees. Here you'll encounter an abundance of plant life in the spring, a cool retreat in the summer, breathtaking views of fall foliage and refuge from the cold winter along beautiful snow covered paths. The Grove wraps visitors in a tranquil arboretum setting that reminds us of the simple beauty and calming nature of trees and shrubs.