North
Dakota Gardens - An Historical Vignette
The International Peace
Garden, Dunseith, spans the border between Manitoba, Canada,
and North Dakota. The 2,339 acre Botanical Garden was
the suggestion of noted Canadian horticulturist, Dr. Henry
Moore, from Islington, Ontario. Moore wanted to praise
peace through the beauty and honor to the enduring friendly
relationship between the United States and Canada. He
proposed the idea of an "International Peace Garden"
at the association's 1929 annual meeting in Toronto
the first time the session had been held outside the United
States. The International Peace Garden was built in 1932.
Suitably, much of the
beauty in the International Peace Garden, a habitat for
a diverse range of flora and fauna, is drawn from the
natural wilderness of the Turtle Mountain area, including
two glacier lakes. Paths
meander through magnificent display gardens, and as visitors
stroll, they are greeted with with a giant floral clock
whose 12-foot-diameter face is created in a bright mix
of contrasting bedding annuals. There is also a sunken
garden, a perennial plot, and a wildflower area. A 5 ton
Carillon Bell Tower imported from England notes every
quarter hour with its soft chimes. Seven
Peace Polls in which, “May Peace Prevail”
is written in twenty-eight different languages was presented
to the Gardens by the Japanese Government. Steel girders
from the New York World Trade Center lie at rest at the
911 Memorial.
The floral face of the
clock is newly designed each year but the only floral
designs that remain the same each year are the two floral
displays of the American and Canadian Flags.
More
information: www.Peacegarden.com
Bibliography
and Acknowledgments
Shown: Wild Prairie Ros ( e
Rosa arkansana )
