The City of Gardens Invites you to the Hatley Park Italian Garden


In 1912, James and Laura Dunsmuir engaged Boston landscape firm Brett and Hall to develop a landscape plan for the entire estate. They prepared a classic design for an Edwardian park that included a series of nine 'garden rooms', including the Italian Gardens.

This carefully manicured garden transports you to another time and place. The beautiful stonework of the traditional loggia provides shelter from the sun and rain. It is covered in wisteria that blooms blue in the spring and red trumpet flowers in late summer. The wisteria, which is now over 90 years old, is among the first plantings that reflect Laura Dunsmuir's love of drama and colour over more classical flower choices for this style of garden. 

Other original features include the Roman and Greek statues representing the four seasons; Pomona, Ceres, Flora and Hebe. These elegant statues complement the diverse collection of plants. The austere cenotaph at the garden’s center pays tribute to the military officers who trained here while the institution was a Military Training Academy and were lost in the north Atlantic Ocean during the war. 


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