Botanical Garden - Insectarium, Montreal

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Indeed, with its collection of 22,000 plant species and cultivars, 10 exhibition greenhouses, some thirty thematic gardens, and teams of researchers and activities staff, the Montréal Botanical Garden ranks as one of the world's largest (185 acres (748,668 square meters)and most spectacula gardens.

There is also a train ride that goes from site to site evrynow and then.

The Chinese garden reminded me of those that I saw in Beijing. It has many winding paths, an artificial mountain, and a building in the Chinese style housing a collection of "penjing"(the ancient Chinese art of growing trees and plants, kept small by skilled pruning and formed to create an aesthetic shape and the complex illusion of age). The garden is the largest Chinese garden in the world outside China.

The Japanese Garden is populated with (of course) Japanese plants, and it contains a building in the Japanese style containing an exhibit on tea. The Japanese tea ceremony is performed there during the summer and other traditional Japanese arts, such as Iaido and Ikebana are occasionally demonstrated there as well. It also includes a large koi pond where visitors can feed the koi fish.

The First Nations Garden is populated with Canadian plants; the maple, birch, and pine trees. It has several totem poles and exhibits demonstrating traditional Native American artwork.

The Alpine Garden has several paths winding over a rocky outcrop which is covered with tiny, delicate alpine plants.

Other gardens include the poisonous plants garden (which has samples of various poisonous plants along with information on the effects of various doses), the economic plants exhibit, the flowery brook, and an arboretum. The botanical gardens are also the home to some wildlife; primarily squirrels, ducks, turtles and herons.

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My sister & I took the kids on a "rare" sunny day in Montreal to the Botanical Gardens,It's ranked one of the largest botanical gardens.(so make sure you wear a comfortable shoes for walking).

Check the link below for tickets & working hours.

Botanical garden is next to the Olympic Stadium. We were there on a hot day and it was nice just to sit next to the pond and watch the world go by. My favourite place was Japanese or Chinese garden. This place is very clean. I recommend to take the little train which will take you all around the garden.

Very beautiful and diversify themes.
This is the part of China, it's amazing when you are there! You can't see the flowers but not too far you can find them. You should go.

Le Jardin botanique de Montréal, fondé en 1931, est considéré comme l'un des plus importants au monde. Parcourir ses dix serres d'exposition et sa trentaine de jardins, c'est partir à la découverte des couleurs et des parfums du monde. Laissez-vous charmer par l'exotisme du Jardin de Chine et du Jardin japonais. Ouvrez les portes de la Maison de l'arbre et découvrez la richesse forestière du Québec et l'importance de l'arbre en milieu urbain. Ne manquez pas la nouvelle Cour des sens, spécialement conçue pour les non-voyants, qui vous fera poser un «regard» différent sur les merveilles du Jardin.

The Montréal Botanical Garden, created in 1931, is now one of the largest in the world. Come explore its ten exhibition greenhouses and more than 30 outdoor gardens, and experience the colours and fragrances of the world. Let yourself be carried away by the exotic charm of the Chinese and Japanese gardens. Step through the doors of the Tree House and learn about the wealth of Quebec's forests and the many ways in which trees contribute to the urban environment. Don't miss the new Courtyard of the Senses, specially designed for visually impaired visitors and offering a completely different way of experiencing a garden.

For some reason I expected this to be indoors, since it is so cold here. But it is outdoors and was raining when I went a bit, so mostly empty. But that actually made it quite nice, and I really enjoyed my time walking around. I visited the Japanese and Chinese Gardens. Both have buildings you can enter. The Japanese building had a nice exhibit on Sake and the Chinese Gardens had a delightful lantern exhibit.

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Our final stop on the first day was at the Botanic Gardens, I actually hadn’t intended on going to them since it was already around 4 pm but we were there, it was a warm sunny day and I wasn’t quite ready to hop in the car for the long drive to Quebec City. The Gardens here are the 2nd largest in the world behind Kew Gardens near London and well worth a visit if you are a fan of gardens.

Since our visit was short we stopped briefly at the sensory gardens, a delightful place where you can touch and smell various plants and then onto the greenhouse since the indoor gardens close before the outside. We didn’t spend much time here but the greenhouses were very nicely arranged and comprehensive. They had a lovely collection of orchids, which are my favorite flowers and they have some really interesting spotted begonias.

Back outside, we headed for what I thought was the highlight of the gardens, the Chinese Garden, featuring several buildings of traditional Chinese architecture overlooking a lake and a lovely collection of penjing, the Chinese equivalent of bonsai, some of them listed as being over 200 years old. The website below has wonderful descriptions of the elements that go into the different gardens and is well worth a look BEFORE you go to heighten your appreciation of what you are looking at, the website is really well done.

Other highlights include the Japanese Garden with it’s collection of bonsai plants, the Rose Garden which was in full bloom during our visit, and the First Nations Garden featuring Canada’s native plants and trees. Included in the admission is the Insectarium, we unfortunately didn’t have time to visit.

Admission is a rather steep $12.75 CAD, it’s included on the Montreal Museum Pass so consider getting one if you plan on visiting the Biodome, the Botanic Gardens and a couple of museums. We spent about 2 hours here and could have easily spent a couple more hours.

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Inside the Botanic gardens but requiring an additonal entry fee is the insectarium, essentially an insect zoo. Its a pretty interesting place to visit if you are at the Botanical gradens but not worth a special trip

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The single best botanical gardens I have ever visited! Its actually much more than just botanical gardens, the Chinese, Japanese and First peoples sections are as much outdoor cultural museums as botanical gardens. Do not miss this if you visit Montreal.

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At the Botanical garden in Montreal, we have the biggest chinese garden outside of Asia. This is a unique chance to travel to China without going in the far east (i went in China recently and let me just say that i don't see any difference between this garden and those in Beijing and Shanghai). A real pleasure to wonder around, with real bonsais, real chinese music, plants and trees, a beautiful waterfall and many landmarks of chinese architecture.

Very peacefull, this space is the most beautiful of all the gardens at the Botanical garden.

Not to be miss !

N.B. I shot shorts clips recently in the chinese garden. If you want to see them, go to http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=etrehumain. Enjoy !

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Another great spot at the Montreal Botanical garden, is the japanese garden. Zen, minimalist, pure and very quiet, again you have a small lake with very nice fishs, a nice museum with very interesting expositions (right now it is about the sake tradition) and many bonsais and small trees.

A very nice visit.