Calgary Attractions
Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs
The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs are looked after 100% by volunteers and paid for through sponsorships and donations. They're inside a City park in Silver Springs, within a Birthplace Forest, and cover about 20 acres of gardens and woods in all.
- Community
- Silver Springs
- On site
- Garden beds, floral mural, gazebo, trails and arbour
- Next door
- Off-leash dog area
From a Bare Field to 30 Gardens
In 2002, the BP Birthplace Forest program started planting thousands of trees in the community. Neighbours saw the open field around the young forest and began adding gardens, starting with the Oval Garden after the forest was finished in 2007. Today there are 30 gardens and 8 forested areas, and volunteers put in about 9,000 hours a year to keep them up.
What I'd Look For
- The labyrinth, opened in 2013, built from thousands of bricks with wild thyme between them
- The Shakespeare garden, planted with things mentioned in his works
- The Wall Garden, a long bed that runs along the sound wall
- The floral mural, the gazebo and the wooden arbour at the trails
Good to Know
- Main entrance parking: off Silver Springs Drive NW
- Dogs are welcome; there are bags at the entrance, and an off-leash area next door
- Look, don't pick: no flowers or seeds
- Two portable toilets and a water fountain on site
Nearby
The gardens are in Silver Springs, with Ranchlands, Scenic Acres and Varsity a short drive away.
Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs in pictures
Photographed on the ground by Kelly Baker.
Communities around Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs
The residential communities closest to it.