Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens — Attraction in Annapolis Royal

The family a lovely time visiting the gardens last weekend. June is clearly a good time to go as we caught a huge variety of flowers—roses, poppies, rhododendrons and peonies, to name a few—and the mosquitoes were tolerable. Stopped at the cafe for a quick lunch after our visit; it features very simple food, but everything was fresh and tasty. I’d go again later in the season to see the difference in the plants. The parking lot isn’t big, but there’s plenty of street parking in the area. If you go on a Saturday morning and can manage the walk, park by the Fort so you halve the distance between the outdoor market and the gardens.

Comparing the gardens to Butchart (Victoria, BC) is simply bizarre. It costs half as much to enter and is in a completely different climate—what are visitors expecting? Complaining about bugs at a garden is just funny. It’s hard to take the negative...

We recently moved to Annapolis Royal and had yet to experience the historical gardens until today. What a wonderful place! The staff are friendly and personable, the gift shop is filled with local artisanal products and the cafe (huge highlight) is incredible.

The gardens are well kept and tended too, there are plants from all over the world that are well signposted and stunningly arranged. The business even have a bloom report to notify members of the current flowers in bloom.

The cafe deserves it's own review as the staff they're are the sweetest people, they homemade every item and even made some whilst we were there. They were able to inform us all about the food and the area and checked in on us too. The apple and Brie sandwich was to die for and my partner adored the apple and rhubarb jelly (grown from last years harvest).

We'll absolutely be coming back (every day if...

My visit came in late spring, so earliest blooms were beginning to fade, while summer flowering plants were barely in bud - even so, I spent several hours wandering the beautiful landscaped grounds, enjoying the plantings. A recent rain magnified all the colours and details and it is very easy to imagine how lush and alive the gardens will be in another two weeks. Beautiful water features add delightful sound to the landscape and are cleverly set to run from one into the next. Surprise garden sculptures feature in unexpected corners. A very wide variety of Nova Scotia themed, sourced or crafted gifts, books, jewellery and more are very tempting in the gift store. Well worth the reasonable admission fee, and I will certainly...