Reader Rock Garden Historic Park is one of Calgary's most unique cultural landscapes featuring the restored Reader house (that contains Reader's Garden Café), rock pathways, bridges, benches and beautiful flowers.
Bookings Programs & Events Garden History Garden Etiquette
| Location: |
311 25 Ave. S.E. |
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| Area: |
16.5 hectares |
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| Park hours: |
Open sunrise to sunset |
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Park features
About the park
Reader Rock Garden Historic Park is one of the city's most unique cultural landscapes and the first Legacy Park to open. Its restoration was honoured with a Calgary Heritage Authority Lion Award in Landscape Preservation, earning official designation as a Provincial Historic Resource. Its restoration was completed in 2006 and earned an official designation as a Provincial Historic Resource.
This historic garden is a tribute to one man's passion for plants and beauty. William Roland Reader was the Superintendent for The City of Calgary Parks from 1913 – 1942 who transformed a bare hillside into an internationally-acclaimed garden.
During the turn of the century, it was common for horticulturists to collect alpine plants on their travels and create gardens as living artifacts of their journeys. Reader actively engaged in this practice and for thirty years the Garden trialed over 4000 different plant species, making it one of the few significant gardens in western Canada. Reader used the Garden as a showplace to educate people about the gardening potential of the prairie/foothills region of Alberta, particularly Calgary.
Lovingly rehabilitated according to Reader's original plans, the garden blooms from mid-March to mid-November. The reconstructed Arts and Crafts style house features a café and classroom space for educational programs.
