机构沿革与法律地位
加拿大银泉植物园（Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs，简称 BGSS，访问入口为 bgss.ca）位于加拿大艾伯塔省卡尔加里市银泉社区内一座由政府划定的「Birthplace Forest 出生地森林」市政公园中。其筹建可追溯至卡尔加里市启动 BirthPlace Forest 倡议之时——最初在原计划用于现 Stoney Trail 环城高速的一段贫瘠路权上栽植树木，奠基者们在此基础上构想出以花园美化这片森林的方案。BGSS 由一个志愿者团体自发设计、开发、维护与管理，自项目启动以来，逐年累积，至 2025 年已发展为 30 个主题花园与 8 片林地的园区规模。它由卡尔加里市公园部（City of Calgary Parks）和银泉社区协会（Silver Springs Community Association）持续支持，并以非营利慈善组织的形态运行。
使命愿景与运营模式
BGSS 的使命是「营造一个具有独特花园与森林的户外空间，以启发、教育并愉悦社区中所有人，遵循以园艺实践反哺愿景这一核心动力」。其愿景是把园区打造成社区聚会空间、目的地公园兼植物园，集中展示适宜卡尔加里气候的植物。整座花园完全由志愿者维护，每年需要约 9,000 小时的志愿劳动；其所需的堆肥来自园区自产 2.5 吨以及 Bluegrass Nurseries 等长期合作苗圃捐赠的 5 吨堆肥。园区长期支持机构包括 Calgary Rock and Alpine Gardening Society（共建 Crevice 高山岩隙园）、Alberta Regional Lily Society（共建 Martagon Lily 园）、City of Calgary（共建 Microforest Miyawaki 微森林与 Yardsmart 耐旱示范园）、Calgary Horticultural Society（共建 Yardsmart 园）等多个城市级、地区级园艺团体；组织本身由 Calgary 市公园部与 Silver Springs 社区协会共同背书。
主题花园体系与植物收集
BGSS 的 30 个主题花园按展示逻辑可分为六类。其一为廊柱与小品园：Oval Garden 椭圆园是园区第一座落成的花园，以各类宿根花卉为主体；Half Moon Garden 半月园为年度一年生花卉展示园；Sunflower Garden 向日葵园以成片向日葵营造油画质感；Heart Garden 心形园由心脏病患儿家庭参与选植心形叶与心形花植物。其二为儿童与体验园：Labyrinth Garden 迷宫园参照法国沙特尔大教堂迷宫建造，使用 7,000 株野生百里香苗与 9,000 块捐购砖块铺成，是艾伯塔省唯一的公共迷宫（截至 2024 年）。其三为文化与文学园：Shakespeare Garden 莎士比亚园展示莎翁著作中提到的植物并附原文引语；Old Post Garden 老邮政园以英式村舍花园为蓝本、随季节主题调整；South Border Garden 南边界园以自然式种植展现可持续、生物多样性友好的草本与原生植物配植。其四为玫瑰与百合专类园：Rose Bowl 玫瑰碗展示 50 余种耐寒灌木玫瑰；Prairie Celebration Rose Garden 草原庆贺玫瑰园聚焦加拿大育种家近百年针对草原 3 区严寒条件选育的玫瑰品种；Canadian Heritage Rose Garden 加拿大传统玫瑰园计划于 2026 年开始定植；Martagon Lily Garden 欧洲百合园与 Alberta Regional Lily Society 合作，展示加拿大草原育种家选育的 Martagon 百合。其五为森林与微生境园：Wall One、Wall Two、Wall Three 三座挡墙形成独特微气候，使 4 区植物能够生长；Microforest 微森林按日本宫胁昭博士 1970 年代提出的宫胁法密植；Woodland Walk – Flora of Alberta 林地步道 2018 年起增植 100 余株原生灌木、75 余种宿根花卉。其六为生态与耐旱示范园：Yardsmart Garden 由 City of Calgary 与 Calgary Horticultural Society 共建，选用适合卡尔加里的低维护、低耗水植物；LoH2O Garden 展示耐旱与部分原生植物；Crevice Garden 高山岩隙园复刻山岳地貌并以 Calgary Rock and Alpine Gardening Society 合作为主体；Fruit Grove 果园收集卡尔加里气候下可结果的苹果、梨、杏、樱桃、李等果树。
运营支撑与社区参与
BGSS 的财政来源以个人捐款、企业赞助、社区组织捐赠为主，园方设有多种命名赞助方式：树木赞助（Sponsor a Tree）、花园赞助（Sponsor a Garden，已开放赞助的园包括 Crevice、Deer-Resistible、Old Post、Prairie Celebration Rose、Wall One、Wall Two、Wall Three、Welcome 等园）、长椅赞助（Sponsor a Bench）、野餐桌赞助（Sponsor a Picnic Table）。园区每年向志愿者社区颁发若干重要荣誉，包括 2012 年 Federation of Calgary Communities「Be a Part of it」奖（颁给 Tom Mayhew、Bob Caddell、Duncan Badger）、2013 年 Calgary Horticultural Society「Award of Merit」奖（颁给 Bev 与 Duncan Badger，以表彰他们为建设迷宫所作贡献）、2022 年 Battle of the Burbs 全卡尔加里金奖（Silver Springs 社区以 37,000 票胜出，园区为主要因素）、2023 年 Federation of Calgary Communities Faces of Community 奖（颁给 Laurel Caddell）、2024 年与 2025 年两届 King Charles III 加冕纪念奖章（分别颁给 Duncan Badger 与 June Bergman）、以及 2025 年加拿大 Volunteer Awards 大草原社区领袖类奖。
访客规划与园艺教育资源
园区全年黎明至黄昏对公众开放且免门票，建议参观时捐赠意愿。位于卡尔加里市 Silver Springs 社区，主入口停车场位于 Silver Springs Drive NW，园方提示该停车场与棒球场相邻。园区信息亭设于主入口与北入口，提供安全信息、徒步导览手册、捐款与建议箱、教学资料与活动公告；步行小径包含木屑、沥青、碎石等多种路面，沿途设有长椅与野餐桌供休憩。BGSS 还构建了独立的植物数据库（Plant Database）与玫瑰数据库（Rose Database）供访客按植物名称检索每座花园对应品种，并提供 Garden Tour、Forest Walk 等多条自助导览线路；导览由加拿大导览员讲解花园。园区支持携犬同行，入口处提供拾便袋，并设有 Dog Off-Leash 区标识。
Institutional History and Legal Status
The Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs (BGSS, bgss.ca) is located within a designated Birthplace Forest municipal park in the Silver Springs community of northwest Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The project grew out of the City of Calgary’s BirthPlace Forest initiative, which had originally planted trees on a barren right-of-way slated for what is now Stoney Trail. Founders expanded this concept into a series of gardens; by 2025 the BGSS had grown to encompass 30 themed gardens and 8 forested areas, covering several acres of parkland within the City park system. The gardens are designed, developed, maintained and managed by an all-volunteer organization, and have received sustained support from the City of Calgary Parks and the Silver Springs Community Association. BGSS operates as a registered not-for-profit charitable society.
Mission, Vision and Operating Model
The mission of BGSS is to contribute to a welcoming outdoor space of unique gardens and forests that inspire, educate, and provide enjoyment for all within a multi-use environment, guided by a reciprocal dynamic between botanical and horticultural practices. The vision positions the site as a community gathering space, destination park and botanical garden that demonstrates plants adapted to Calgary’s climate. The gardens are 100 percent volunteer-maintained, requiring approximately 9,000 volunteer hours per year. The site produces 2.5 tons of compost on-site from weeds, prunings and autumn leaves, with an additional 5 tons donated by Bluegrass Nurseries spread on the beds. Long-standing partners include the Calgary Rock and Alpine Gardening Society (co-developer of the Crevice Garden), the Alberta Regional Lily Society (co-developer of the Martagon Lily Garden), the City of Calgary (co-developer of the Microforest Miyawaki planting and the Yardsmart drought-tolerant demonstration), and the Calgary Horticultural Society (co-developer of the Yardsmart Garden); the organization itself is endorsed jointly by Calgary Parks and the Silver Springs Community Association.
Garden Collection and Plant Holdings
The 30 themed gardens fall into six functional clusters. (1) Entryways and small displays: the Oval Garden was the first garden developed and showcases perennials; the Half Moon Garden hosts an annual rotation of annuals; the Sunflower Garden uses mass sunflowers to evoke a Van Gogh palette; the Heart Garden invites families affected by congenital heart disease to co-select heart-shaped leaves and flowers. (2) Children’s and experiential gardens: the Labyrinth Garden is patterned on the Chartres Labyrinth in France and is the only public labyrinth in Alberta as of 2024, planted with 700 wild thyme plugs and paved with 8,000 donated and 1,000 purchased bricks. (3) Literary and cultural gardens: the Shakespeare Garden highlights plants referenced in Shakespeare’s work with original quotations; the Old Post Garden revives an English cottage-garden aesthetic with seasonal themes; the South Border Garden demonstrates naturalist planting that supports biodiversity. (4) Rose and lily specialty collections: the Rose Bowl displays more than 50 hardy shrub roses; the Prairie Celebration Rose Garden focuses on roses bred by Canadians over the last 100 years for Zone 3 prairie winters; the Canadian Heritage Rose Garden will begin planting in 2026; the Martagon Lily Garden features Canadian-prairie-bred Martagon lilies in partnership with the Alberta Regional Lily Society. (5) Forest and microhabitat gardens: three numbered Wall gardens (One/Two/Three) create microclimates suitable for Zone 4 plants including espaliered apples and clematis; the Microforest follows Dr. Akira Miyawaki’s 1970s high-density native planting method; the Woodland Walk – Flora of Alberta added more than 100 native shrubs in 2018 and 75 native perennials thereafter. (6) Ecological and drought-tolerant demonstrations: the Yardsmart Garden showcases low-water perennials in partnership with the City of Calgary and the Calgary Horticultural Society; the LoH2O Garden features drought-tolerant and native species; the Crevice Garden recreates alpine terrain in partnership with the Calgary Rock and Alpine Gardening Society; the Fruit Grove collects apples, pears, apricots, cherries and plums adapted to Calgary’s climate.
Operations and Community Recognition
BGSS is funded through individual donations, corporate sponsorships and community grants. Named sponsorship opportunities are open across trees (Sponsor a Tree), gardens (Sponsor a Garden — including the Crevice, Deer-Resistible, Old Post, Prairie Celebration Rose, Wall One, Wall Two, Wall Three and Welcome gardens), benches (Sponsor a Bench) and picnic tables (Sponsor a Picnic Table). The gardens have earned notable community recognition, including the 2012 Federation of Calgary Communities “Be a Part of it” award (Tom Mayhew, Bob Caddell and Duncan Badger); the 2013 Calgary Horticultural Society “Award of Merit” (Bev and Duncan Badger, for the Labyrinth); the 2022 Battle of the Burbs – Calgary top-community award (Silver Springs, 37,000 votes, with BGSS as a major contributor); the 2023 Federation of Calgary Communities Faces of Community Award (Laurel Caddell); back-to-back King Charles III Coronation Medals in 2024 (Duncan Badger) and 2025 (June Bergman); and a 2025 Canada’s Volunteer Awards regional honour for the Prairies in the Community Leader category.
Visitor Planning and Horticultural Resources
The gardens are open year-round from dawn to dusk with no admission charge; voluntary donations are encouraged. The main entrance parking lot is accessed from Silver Springs Drive NW (the lot is adjacent to a baseball diamond); street parking is available at the North Entrance. Visitor kiosks at the Main and North Entrances provide safety information, walking-tour brochures, donation boxes and event listings. BGSS maintains an online Plant Database and a Rose Database that map every plant to its respective garden; self-guided Garden Tour and Forest Walk routes are supported, with printed maps downloadable from the Tours page. Leashed pets are welcome and dog waste bags are available at the main entrance.
发表回复