Visiting Calgary, Alberta: Viewing Beaulieu Gardens, Calm Oasis in Alberta's Furious, Dynamic and Fastest Growing City
A "beau lieu" that lives up to its name.
Calgary is probably rightly known as Alberta's most furious and dynamic city, and it has had the reputation of being its fastest growing one. Its skyscrapers in the Downtown area have mushroomed, and the Calgary Tower is among the Province's — and maybe among also Canada's — most well-known visitor attractions.
The Beltline neighbourhood of Calgary, situated not far from the Downtown area, contains a number of well-known landmarks, which include the Ranchmen's Club (1), Lougheed House (see Link, below) and Beaulieu Gardens in close proximity with one another. While to the east of the Gardens the Beaulieu name is sometimes applied also to the Lougheed House museum, the latter is owned by the Province of Alberta, whereas Beaulieu Gardens is administered by The City of Calgary Parks (2).
These Gardens are terraced, with tiered lawns. Prior to the 1890s, the land was open prairie, situated southwest of the Downtown Calgary.
The Gardens extend over 0.4 hectares; as a facility, they may be booked for private functions via the City of Calgary. Sir Peter and Lady Lougheed, were already engaged in considerable horticultural activities prior to World War One; and from 1908 to 1914 they won many Calgary Horticultural Society prizes. In recent decades, landscape architects who have worked on Beaulieu Gardens have included Gary Carson (3), who was also involved in preparing the gardens at facilities for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games.
An area of the Gardens is reserved as a wildflower area. British and Canadian flag designs have sometimes been planted with petunias, alyssum, ageratum and calibrachoa (4).
Part of the Gardens has been designated as a memorial to former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed (1928-2012)(5), which includes a flowering crab tree.
Interestingly, present at the Gardens since 1906 is the Sarah Bernhardt peony, which has also been displayed at the Canadian Peony Show, held at Calgary Zoo.
The street address of Beaulieu Gardens is 707, 13th Avenue, Calgary, S.W.
It may be said that Beaulieu Gardens are a "beau lieu" that truly lives up to its name.
May 2, 2019
Notes
(1) See also: https://beltline.ca/community/heritage/ranchmens-club
(2) See also: https://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Locations/Downtown-parks/Beaulieu-Gardens.aspx
(3) See also: http://www.ground3.com/resume_GarryCarson.php
(4) See also: http://www.lougheedhouse.com/125-years-beaulieu-gardens-summer-2016-garden-design/
(5) Premier Lougheed served in that capacity from 1971 to 1985; he was a grandson to Sir James and Lady Lougheed, who built what is now known as the neighbouring Lougheed House.
Also worth seeing
The many visitor attractions in Calgary include: the Calgary Tower, Lougheed House National Historic Site and Museum, the annual Stampede, the Glenbow Museum, sporting events at the Scotiabank Saddledome, Glenmore Reservoir and Prince's Island Park in the Bow River, which are just a few of the many visitor attractions in this fast-growing city.
From Calgary, day trips to favourite Rockies destinations such as Banff (distance: 128.7 kilometres) and Lake Louise (distance: 183.6 kilometres) are feasible.
...
How to get there: Air Canada and WestJet fly to Calgary International Airport, with wide North American and other connections, from where car rental is available. Some facilities may be withdrawn without notice. For up to date information, please check with the airline or your travel agent. Airline information at Calgary International Airport may be accessed at: http://www.yyc.com/en-us/travellerinfo/flightinformation/airlineinformation.aspx . See also: http://www.airportshuttleexpress.com/ . Both Tourism Calgary and Travel Alberta have booths at the Airport. Information about booking arrangements for Beaulieu Gardens may be accessed at: https://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Pages/Contact-Parks.aspx. You are advised to refer to appropriate consular sources for any special border crossing arrangements which may apply to citizens of certain nationalities.
MJFenn is an independent travel writer based in Ontario, Canada.
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