Toronto 
Gorgeous gardens span across the Greater Toronto Area, and range from flowers that come in all colours of the spectrum to shrubs and bushes that make up a visually beautiful green backdrop for a stroll. Some are accessible, some are kid-friendly, and some have sweeping views of Lake Ontario, but all of them showcase the beauty of nature.
Here are some of the best gardens you should visit in and around Toronto:
1. City of Toronto
Allan Gardens
Allan Gardens is a conservatory that carries plenty of colourful and exotic plants and flowers from around the world. The conservatory dates back to the mid-1800s and has since provided the city of Toronto with a place to enjoy the wonders of nature. You can enjoy seasonal shows in Spring, Easter, Fall and Christmas.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year Round
Address: 19 Horticultural Ave, Toronto (Directions)
Tropical House, Allan Gardens Conservatory
Toronto Music Garden
Located right by the Toronto Harborfront, the Toronto Music Garden offers the public a magical and beautiful green space that hosts classical performances during the summer. There is a whimsical spirit evident in the garden, which is reflected in the landscape architecture.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year Round
Address: 479 Queens Quay W, Toronto (Directions)
Rosetta McClain Gardens
This accessible garden park at the Scarborough Bluffs is perfect for those who want to observe flowers, birds, and butterflies in a stunning setting. You’ll find views of Lake Ontario, raised planters, a rock fountain, and braille signage.
Cost: Free
Hours: 24 Hours
Address: 5 Glen Everest Rd, Scarborough (Directions)
Toronto Botanical Garden & Edward Gardens
Known as “the little garden with big ideas,” the Toronto Botanical Garden is a vibrant and dynamic site featuring 17 themed gardens that span 4 acres.
You can also join various teaching programs, tours, and summer concerts at the gardens.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 777 Lawrence Ave E, North York (Directions)
Credit: Toronto Botanical Garden
Centennial Park Conservatory
At the Centennial Park Conservatory, you will find three greenhouses and 12,00 square feet of plants and a tropical house. The 200 different varieties of plants include succulents, aloe, trees, shrubs, palms, and hibiscus.
Hours: Open Daily, Year-Round
Address: 151 Elmcrest Rd, Etobicoke (Directions)
Credit: Centennial Park and Conservatory
James Gardens
James Gardens is a scenic park on the Humber River that features paths, gardens, and lawn bowling. This relaxed green space was a former estate with a historic gazebo, and has a rose garden and streams where you can walk and enjoy some of the best examples of nature.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 99 Edenbridge Dr, Etobicoke (Directions)
Spadina Museum
Visit the heritage gardens of the Spadina Museum. The elegant Edwardian mansion of the early 1900s has 6 acres of restored Gardens, including a greenhouse built in 1913.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 285 Spadina Road, Toronto (Directions)
Casa Loma
The house on the hill, or Casa Loma, is a must-visit place not just for the stately historic home, but also for its landscaped 5-acre estate gardens. During summer, walk the gardens admiring garden features, and listen to the Toronto Concert Orchestra under the stars during Symphony in the Gardens.
Cost: Casa Loma Admission
Hours: Open Year Round, best visited during late spring to early fall.
Address: 1 Austin Terrace, Toronto (Directions)
Humber Arboretum
Home to nearly 250 acres of public gardens and natural areas located along the Humber River, Humber Arboretum features themed gardens with striking displays of annuals and perennials, spring-flowering trees and shrubs, including magnolia and dogwood that line meandering trails over bridges, and other landscape structures.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year Round.
Address: 205 Humber College Blvd, Etobicoke (Directions)
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2. York Region
Aurora Community Arboretum
Enclosing over 100 acres, the Aurora Community Arboretum is fantastic for hiking, birdwatching, exploring nature, and taking photographs. See the beautiful Bur Oak that is almost 200 years old, learn about various trees native to Ontario, enjoy bird watching as you navigate numerous trails of this Arboretum that is also home to a section of East Holland River and a few ponds.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 100+ acres east of Industrial Pkwy N, between St. John’s Sideroad and Wellington St. E (Directions)
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McMichael’s Canadian Collection
By the Humber River Valley is the Sculpture Garden at McMichael’s Canadian Collection. Explore around 100 acres of woodland trails that feature a wilderness garden, a network of outdoor paths and trails, along with a series of installations and outdoor sculptures at the Ivan Eyre Sculpture Garden.
Address: 10365 Islington Ave, Kleinburg (Directions)
Cost: Free (outdoors)
Hours: Open year-round
McMichael’s Canadian Collection
3. Durham Region
Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens
This network of parks encompasses amazing gardens, pathways, scenery, architectural features, and natural surroundings in the Oshawa Valley. The Peony Garden at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens is one of the largest contemporary peony gardens, featuring over 300 varieties of peonies and hosting the renowned Peony Festival every June. It also has an amazing daylily collection.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 155 Gladstone Ave, Oshawa (Directions)
Parkwood Estate
This national historic site is over 100 years old, a place preserved for future generations, and it is one of Canada’s last remaining grand estates. Here, you can marvel at this 15,000-square-foot 20th-century Beaux-Arts structure and its surrounding gardens that drew inspiration from the English Arts & Crafts gardening movement. Consider joining the 1920s Auto Baron Tour that will provide you with an overview of the entertaining spaces (main floor) of the Estate, as well as an introduction to the McLaughlin Family during the 1920s. The Parkwood Estate National Historic Site regularly holds various garden-themed events.
Cost: Varies; Tours Ticketed.
Hours: Open Year-Round.
Address: 270 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa (Directions)
Parkwood Estate National Historic Site
4. Peel Region
Chinguacousy Park
This famed 40-hectare park is home to tropical gardens and a greenhouse, as well as plenty of amenities to complement the natural beauty and colourful plants and flowers around the area. If you are visiting with kids, the park also has a barn and a petting zoo.
Address: 9050 Bramalea Rd, Brampton (Directions)
Hours: Open Year-Round
Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens
Credit: Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens
This 18-acre lakefront botanical garden is a colourful garden space that boasts rhododendrons, a flower that represents spring. The gardens themselves are visually incredible, with blooming flowers and green plants everywhere.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open year-round, best visited during the spring
Address: 660 Lakeshore Rd W, Mississauga (Directions)
Website
The Riverwood Conservancy
Riverwood Conservancy on the shores of the Credit River has numerous trails through woodlands and meadows. It also has two distinct gardens, Chappell House Gardens and MacEwan Terrace Garden. While Chappell House Gardens with its floral beds surrounding the Riverwood Conservancy’s offices, MacEwan Terrace Garden boasts of approximately 7,000 plants, featuring everything from perennials and ornamental grasses to specimen trees.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 4300 Riverwood Park Ln, Mississauga (Directions)
Website
5. Halton Region
Royal Botanical Gardens
Gardening enthusiast? Plan a weekend getaway to Burlington to Canada’s largest botanical garden. The extensive natural space of the Royal Botanical Gardens spans 1,100 hectares of a nature reserve, featuring 2,400 acres of nature sanctuaries, 2,300 plant species, and 181,000 individual plants. Walk 27 kilometres of nature trails, check out the slopes of the Niagara Escarpment World Biosphere Reserve, and enjoy the view of the exotic plants. It has an extensive rose garden, historic Rock Garden, an arboretum, 12 themed garden areas, Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection and more!
Cost: Free and ticketed sections.
Hours: Open Year-Round.
Address: 680 Plains Rd W, Burlington (Directions)
Lucy Maud Montgomery Garden of the Senses
The Lucy Maud Montgomery Garden of the Senses inspired by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery’s children’s storybooks, has it all – a large gazebo, cascading waterfall, picnic areas, planter boxes, garden features for children, and beautiful sensory gardens.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 477 Guelph Street (Hwy 7), Norval (Directions)
Credit: LM Montgomery Heritage Society
Gairloch Gardens
Gairloch Gardens is a peaceful, down-to-earth spot in Oakville for picnics, admiring Lake Ontario, and visiting components like the rose garden and art gallery. It is the ideal place for an early summer getaway from the city, complete with swimming ducks and flowers in full bloom.
Address: 1306 Lakeshore Rd E, Oakville (Directions)
Hours: Open Year-Round.
Dominion Gardens Park
Complementing the Town of Halton Hills’ beautiful rural Ontario scenery, you can discover nature here at the Dominion Gardens Park. Enjoy formal gardens, meandering pathways, a dry stone riverbed leading to a naturalized pond, and a walled garden among the foundations of the famous mock-Tudor Dominion Seed House building.
Cost: Free
Address: 118 Guelph St, Georgetown (Directions)
Hours: Open Year-Round.
Spencer Smith Park
In the late 1980s, Burlington signed a twinning agreement with Itabashi, Japan, and demonstrated its relationship with an exquisite Japanese Garden in Spencer Smith Park. The design was heavily inspired by the Itabashi area and the local landscape.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open Year-Round
Address: 1400 Lakeshore Rd, Burlington (Directions)
Website
There’s a beautiful Boho style Community garden with unique flowers and vegetables at the Spadina Parkette in Richmond Hill, worth checking it out!
Where is TD gardens