The Dominion Arboretum (french: Arboretum du Dominion) is an arboretum part of the Central Experimental Farm of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. Originally begun in 1889, the Arboretum covers about of rolling land between Prince of Wales Drive,

Dow's Lake Dow's Lake in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is a small man-made lake on the Rideau Canal, situated two kilometres north of Hog's Back Falls in the middle of Ottawa. It is at the south end of Preston Street, just south of Carling Avenue, and just to th ...

and the Rideau Canal.

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning Wo ...

is located at the opposite side of the Canal. At a latitude of 45°, it can experience extremely hot and humid summers and extremely cold winters. It displays a wide range of well-established trees and shrubs with the intention of evaluating their hardiness, including 1,700 different species and varieties. The arboretum is open from dawn to dusk and the admission is free. Although the climate of the Ottawa area is Zone 5a, the topography of the Arboretum produces a microclimate and is warmer by one zone. This has allowed for a collection of

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

s, azaleas, and several other fringe trees including

Metasequoia ''Metasequoia'', or dawn redwoods, is a genus of fast-growing deciduous trees, one of three species of conifers known as redwoods. The living species '' Metasequoia glyptostroboides'' is native to Lichuan county in Hubei province, China. Althou ...

and

Liriodendron ''Liriodendron'' () is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family (Magnoliaceae). These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their ...

. One of the favourite attractions for tourists is the Ornamental Gardens. In this area are located the annual plant display,

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

borders, lilac walks, roses and hedges. The

hedge A hedge or hedgerow is a line of closely spaced shrubs and sometimes trees, planted and trained to form a barrier or to mark the boundary of an area, such as between neighbouring properties. Hedges that are used to separate a road from adjoin ...

collection was planted between 1966 and 1968 and contains a variety of species suitable for use as a hedge.

References

*Hinchcliff, R. and R. Popadiouk. 2007. ''For the love of trees: A guide to the trees of Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm Arboretum''. General Store Publishing House, Renfrew, Ontario, Canada.

External links

*
Information from the Central Experimental Farm

Douglas, B. (editor). 2005. The living collection of the Dominion Arboretum. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa
{{Authority control Botanical gardens in Canada Arboreta in Canada Parks in Ottawa

See also

References

External links