This weekend marks Garden Days, a national project designed to highlight the benefit of gardens and green spaces across Canada. The University of Guelph is leading Ontario's celebration, with the elaborate gardenscapes on campus also paying tribute to the 50th anniversary of the university.

The event begins tomorrow, June 13, and extends until June 15. Garden Days has expanded since its birth last summer, and now spans three days. Various events are planned to take place in other cities across the province.

The goal of the program is to, "underscore the importance of public and private gardens, the value of home gardening, the promotion of environmental stewardship and is a general celebration of the glorious spring awakening of Mother Nature."

The U of G event begins on Friday at 12:30 in the Conservatory Gardens, with a ceremonial tree planting to the mark the occasion. Margaret and Ivan Stinson , OAC ’49, donated the tree, and they and their granddaughter will be on hand to lead the program. Welcomed by the Village by the Arboretum “Backstage Boys” choral group, followed by words of welcome by President Summerlee and Dean Gordon, guests will enjoy refreshments under a tent in the gardens prior to embarking on the tours.

Free shuttle buses will deliver guests to the U of G Trial Gardens at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, two gardens in The Arboretum, the Guelph Center for Urban Organic Farming, Branion Plaza and the Conservatory Gardens. Tour guides will be stationed at each site to answer questions. Free parking is available at the Guelph Turf Grass Institute and the Arboretum where buses will pick up guests beginning at 11:30. The event is scheduled to end by 4 p.m.

The event is organised by the Canadian Garden Council and supported by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) and Communities in Bloom.

Check out the At Guelph article on Garden Days: http://news.uoguelph.ca/2014/06/garden-days-showcase-u-of-gs-greenery/