Reford Gardens

Elsie Reford was given a fishing camp on the St. Lawrence by her uncle, George Stephen, in 1918 and, at fifty-four and with no training, began turning it into a garden; over three decades she built up around three thousand species on a cold, windy shore, moving soil in by the cartload. Her signature achievement is the Himalayan blue poppy, Meconopsis, notoriously difficult to grow and normally impossible at this latitude, which flowers here in a large stand each summer. The gardens have run an international festival of contemporary garden design since 2000, with new installations each year alongside the historic beds and the family villa.

History

The site was a fishing lodge of George Stephen, Elsie Reford's uncle, who later gave it to her, and when she was recovering from surgery her doctor suggested gardening as a gentler pastime than fishing; she developed the gardens between 1926 and 1958. They opened to the public in 1962, were designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995 and a Quebec heritage site in 2013 (Wikipedia, Jardins de Métis).

What to look for

• The blue poppies - Himalayan Meconopsis flowering in an unlikely climate.
• The historic beds - Elsie Reford's plantings across some twenty hectares.
• The garden festival - contemporary installations renewed each summer.
• The Estevan villa - the family house shown with its period interiors.

When to go

June to September; the blue poppies flower roughly late June into July and are the main draw. The gardens close for winter. The festival installations change each year.

Before you go

Blue poppy bloom is a window of a few weeks and misses many visitors. The gardens close from October to May. Contemporary festival pieces vary in quality and appeal.

Nearby

Gaspésie park lies east; Bic is southwest.

Key facts