Garden of the Provinces and Territories, National commemorative park in Ottawa, Canada

The Garden of the Provinces and Territories is a 4-acre site along Confederation Boulevard in Ottawa, bounded by the Sparks Street escarpment, Wellington Street and Bay Street. One quarter of it is formal terraces flying the provincial and territorial flags in order of entry to Confederation, with bronze plaques of their floral emblems. A 6-metre fountain shaped like a tree stands among concave concrete slabs portraying the Great Lakes.

The site was part of the estate of Bytown landlord Nicholas Sparks (1794-1862), who bought swamp and wild forest there in 1826. The garden was first envisioned by Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King and urbanist Jacques Gréber at the 1937 Paris exposition, and formally proposed in the 1950 Gréber Plan. Designed in 1960 by Don W. Graham, it opened on September 25, 1962 as a western gateway to the Parliament Buildings, and was renamed on October 6, 2005 to include the three territories.

The garden displays bronze plaques showing the floral emblems of each province and territory, reflecting the natural diversity across Canada. You can discover these regional plant symbols as you walk through the grounds.

The garden sits between Wellington Street, Bay Street and the Sparks Street escarpment, a short walk from Parliament Hill. It links to the main pedestrian and bicycle paths, including a tunnel under Wellington Street. The formal terraces occupy about a quarter of the 4-acre site; the rest is open ground used for the tulip displays.

The fountain at the garden's heart is a 6-metre (20 ft) metal structure shaped like a tree, restored during the site's rehabilitation before its October 2005 reopening. It stands among formal terraces where the flags of the provinces and territories fly in the order they joined Confederation.