Quebec Features Nineteenth Century English Style

On our recent trip to Quebec, where we enjoyed the food and where the historical sites seemed endless, two parks stand out as examples of the nineteenth century English garden style.

St. John of Arc Park, near the Old City, features a statue of the French heroine in the center of an extended lawn, divided in quarters.  The beds

however along the pathways reflect the English style borders.  The colors and mass planting of the borders made the experience of the park refreshing after our long walk to find the park.  A bench in the shade under a tree provided a resting point that we needed.

The borders included 150 different species of perennials, annuals, and bulbs.  The individual varieties were grouped together, using color as a predominant guiding principle.

In the St. Roch Garden the carpet bed design of the words ‘St. Roch’ took me by surprise.  We found this park, quite by accident, even though I knew it was in the area and outside the main tourist attraction sites.

On a post, not far from the bed, you could see a list of all the plants included in the design for the St. Roch plantings including alternanthera, impatiens, ipomaea, and santolina.  What a treat for a gardener to see the names of the plants.

Both the borders of flowering plants and later the  carpet bedding were popular forms of garden design in mid to late nineteenth century England.

From our visit I must say that I found that  Quebec exhibits impressive examples of nineteenth century English garden style.

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