Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière, Sainte-Croix, Quebec, Eastern Canada
175 years of innovation on a splendid and unique site
Erected in 1850, the site was designed under the influence of the architectural and esthetic principles of the picturesque movement with the wishes of its new owner, Pierre-Gustave Joly. Since then, the working approach has stayed the same and is focused on keeping the environment neat and magnificent, with its ten thematical gardens, its collection of three thousand perennials, and hundreds if not thousands of annual bedding plants.
As an All-American Selections® Display Garden, the Domaine Joly-De Lotbiniere won third place in the Design Challenge in 2021, and first place in 2022, under the category of 10-100,000 visitors. The site also includes an old forest, categorized under the “ancient forest” status, with paths crossing trees as old as three hundred years old and is bordered by the St-Lawrence River where you can go and put a toe in!
Q: What is your garden most known for?
A. We are a public garden with a collection of three thousand perennials, annual beddings, an ancient forest, a beach on the Lawrence River and a Manor converted into a museum. Our plantation of Black Walnut trees, one of which is 140 years old, is the oldest one in the northern hemisphere
Q: When was your garden established?
A. The gardens were established in 1985. Featuring: vegetables, perennials, herbs, cottage, roses, water gardens, child play musical wall, sunflower house; screened Butterfly House; and nature trail. In 1998, we underwent an extensive makeover that is still thriving and visible in today’s gardens.
Q: How long have you been an AAS Display Garden?
A. We have been an AAS Display Garden since 2019 with an even more devoted commitment in 2021 when the new Chief Horticulturist, Philippe Martin, took over.
Q: Do you showcase AAS Winning flowers, or edibles, or both?
A. We showcase both the AAS Winning flowers and edibles.
Q: Which AAS Winner(s) attracted the most attention in the garden?
Celosia ‘Flamma Orange’ – planted in mass, it creates something so vibrant! The visual impact is hard to beat!
Petunia Bee’s Knees’ – planted in mass, it creates a sunny space always loved by the visitors.
Zinnia ‘Queeny Lemon Peach’ – We saw a lot of visitors taking a flower in their hands and bringing it closer to their eyes.
Solanum melongena ‘Icicle’ F1 – a white eggplant without any brown spots is remarkable.
Verbena bonariensis ‘Vanity’ – a compact form of Verbena bonariensis! Nothing more to say!
Capsicum annuum ‘Onyx Red’ – is really drought tolerant once established.
Funny note:
The horticulturist staff consumed so many tomatoes of Solanum lycopersicum ‘Apple Yellow’ that we think it had to be one of the AAS Winners that produced the highest yield.
Q: What is the most common question garden visitors ask?
A. The main question we hear a lot is “How many are you to take care of it all?” The answer is “not enough” and the laughs which come with it!
Q: Tell us about the AAS Landscape Design Challenge?
A. Visitors asked a lot about the Landscape Design Challenges. The horticultural staff’s response is that those are something we really love to do. We tell about the fact that we compete against many other gardens in the U.S.A. and Canada, and of course, that we won a third and a first place!
We love challenges here at the Domaine Joly-De Lotbiniere! The more challenging it is, the more enthusiastic we are. Games in the Garden was something our chief horticulturist enjoyed a lot. Having his kids acting in the short video, but on top of it, seeing them really love the games we have made up, almost made him burst into tears.
Q: What is a gardening challenge in your climate?
A. Once we would have said that frost is a garden challenge in our climate, but it is not really the case, as we have always had this in our gardening tasks. The climate changes with later or earlier springs and the same for autumns is something more challenging. Water precipitations are quite something these years too. There seems to be no balance no more, it can be dry for many consecutive days like in 2022, or it can be huge amounts of water after big rainstorms like the ones in 2023.
The above video shows our younger visitors participating in our version of the 2022 theme “Games in the Garden” where they played a find and seek type game called “Find the AAS Winner.”
