Destinations of choice for wedding and graduation photos, the upper bridge and the less famous lower bridge were built in 1911 to replace wooden bridges, which crossed the stream and ponds.

Both are made of concrete, with elaborate balusters and concrete urns on the four corner pedestals. While the upper bridge has a slightly arched deck, the lower bridge deck is flat. The upper bridge bears a plaque commemorating the bravery of Inspector Francis Fitzgerald, a native Haligonian and member of the ‘RNWMP’ The Royal North West
Mounted Police.

Carpet beds are a Victorian garden tradition, consisting of densely arranged dwarf plants with contrasting leaf colours depicting a particular design or motif. The plants
usually are not allowed to flower and are consistently clipped during the season
to keep the lines sharp.

The Halifax Public Gardens contain two carpet beds used annually to commemorate special events.

As was the custom of the times, Victorian Gardens included Tropical Display Beds for exotic plant material that few citizens would otherwise be able to see. Most of the plants in our display bed (including the Agaves, Euphorbia Milii and some Cacti ) must be overwintered in greenhouses to survive
our Zone 6 winters.

Close up pictures of the blooms on the ends of the branches and at the top of the stalk, show that they were ready to open. Visitors, both locals and tourists, kept the area buzzing with conversation
and lots of picture taking.

In 1887 (the year the Bandstand was built), the estate of chief justice Sir William Young donated three concrete statues and six urns from his own garden to his beloved Halifax Public Gardens. Ceres, the Roman goddess representing agriculture and fertility; Flora, the goddess of flowers and spring; and Diana, the goddess of the woodland, wild animals and the moon, were installed along the Petit Allée. 

Ceres’ Greek equivalent is the goddess Demeter. The name Ceres stems originally from the Proto-Indo-European word for 'nourishment'. For what the Romans called “The Greek Rites of Ceres”, a seven-day festival called “Cerealia'' was held every April in Ceres’ honour, and would include horse races and circus performances. Flora was one of several fertility goddesses of the Roman pantheon, and her name is the surviving botanical term for vegetation of a certain area. Her festival, “Floralia”, was held at the end of April and symbolized a renewal of life. It was a six day-long celebration and was plebeian (peasant class) in nature, rather than partition (ruling class). Diana’s Greek equivalent is Artemis, and like her Greek counterpart, she is the twin sister of the god Apollo. Diana was often worshipped alongside the Nymph Egeria; the central figure atop the Jubilee Fountain in the Gardens. Both Diana and Egeria are associated with water, which was considered sacred.

Tribute gifts are a meaningful way to celebrate special people or important events in our lives.
Gifts can be made in memory of a loved one or
to honour an event, individual or family. Every tribute gift is acknowledged with a card sent to
the honoured individual or next of kin. Proceeds
of the Memorial Program will be used to fund
capital projects within the Gardens with the
greatest need, unless specified otherwise.

Click here for an Inventory of the Memorials

The newly restored (2011) bandstand was built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. German-born Henry Busch, a Halifax resident, designed the compact, ornate wooden bandstand. It has been a venue for concerts and been the focus of social events for over 125 years.

It is the literal and figurative heart of the Halifax Public Gardens, occupying the centre of the amalgamated gardens which came to be known
as the Halifax Public Gardens in 1867.

The 32 geometric geometric beds, a common element of Victorian gardens, pre-date the bandstand. During the summer these floating beds, planted in traditional Victorian annuals, provide exuberant colour and complement the intricately carved wooden trim of the bandstand.

Originally built as a meeting hall and storage area for the NS Horticultural Society in 1847, Horticultural Hall is the oldest part of the Halifax Public Gardens. The four elm trees at each of its four corners were planted at the same. Today, it houses the Uncommon Grounds Café, where visitors can enjoy their coffee and snacks on the deck surrounding the building. A speciality is delicious ice cream!

The Friends of the Public Gardens (TFPG) provide a Visitor Information Desk selling The Halifax Public Gardens Book, a Gardens Map and note cards from local artists. Register at the desk for the free daily guided tours.

Kites in Horticultural Hall! In line with the Victorian fascination with kites, we have added some beautiful kites hanging in the windows of the Horticultural Hall to infuse some colour into the interior! Come see some fish, a dragon, and some beautiful butterflies, with more kites to be put up this coming week. Watch as the flutter slightly as the breeze flows through the doorways.

The latest addition to the Halifax Public Gardens was built in 2004, with funds raised by a 24-hour radio campaign organized by the Public Gardens Foundation, following the devastation caused by  Hurricane Juan. More than $1,000,000.00 was donated by the citizens and businesses of Nova Scotia and beyond who rallied to support the reconstruction of their beloved Public Gardens.

At the centre of the plaza is a fountain whose lower basin is held up by five lovely swans. On either side of this fountain are two new trellised buildings housing  family washrooms.

This man made pond is named after a young Irishman  who was hanged on its banks and whose murder conviction was later questioned. Griffin’s pond was once part of a natural watercourse (Freshwater Brook) that flowed through the Gardens. Over the years it has morphed from a source of power for several industries in 19th century Halifax to be a stopping place for migrating birds with regular flyovers by cruising ospreys. Richard Power softened the square shape of the pond, sloping and scalloping its banks into a more natural shape. Since 1994, a model of the Titanic, donated by the Maritime Ship Modellers Guild, makes its summer anchorage on Griffin’s Pond.
This follows a long-standing tradition of displaying ships’ models in Victorian gardens.

Erected in 1903 to commemorate the service of Canadian soldiers in the South African war, the figure at the top of the fountain was modelled from a photograph of a local Canadian Mounted Rifleman.
He is supported on a Corinthian capital surrounded by four cranes standing amid daffodils.

Beside the fountain, stands a spectacular Weeping European Beech (Fagus sylvatica Pendula) and a ring of Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’ (Camperdown Elms), one
of which was donated by the family of a Canadian soldier who died during the
Boer War.

Often a feature of a Victorian Garden is an Aviary or significant recognition of the feathered creatures to a Garden.

The Halifax Public Gardens has had, until recently a Bird Enclosure, originally named as the swan enclosure. This site has been the home of swans and geese since King George V donated the first pair of swans to the Public Gardens in 1926. After the death of Horatio (2008), the last surviving swan, Flora and Finnegan, a pair of Toulouse Geese, became the new residents of the bird enclosure. Diana, another Toulouse Goose joined Flora after the sudden death of Finegan. Both Flora and Diana, delighted visitors with their supple, gyrating necks. until they too passed on. Today, we await the return of Swans During the winter months, our avian friends take a winter vacation at a wildlife sanctuary.