WHEN: Saturday, June 14, 2025, 2:00 p.m. Registration is for one individual only. Each attendee must be registered separately. The tour will take place RAIN OR SHINE.

WHERE: Meet at the Friends of the Farm shed near the east end of the Agriculture Museum parking lot.

WHAT: The first roses were planted at the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) soon after it was established in 1886. Rose breeders were active at the CEF for about 90 years, from the first director William Saunders, to Isabella Preston in the 1920s, to Felicitas Svejda who created the beautiful, hardy Explorer roses. The Heritage Rose Garden was a millennium project of the Friends of the Central Experimental Farm volunteers and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada staff. The main concept is to show the development of roses over time. In 1961, Felicitas Svejda, a botanist with AAFC, began to develop winter hardy and long blooming roses. The first rose “Martin Frobisher” was released in 1968. The Explorer Rose Garden was opened on July 29^th, 2015, and redesigned in 2013-14.

Tour leaders: Jennifer Williams, Team Leader, Heritage Rose Garden and Ian Dublin, Team Leader, Explorer Rose Garden.

Attendance is limited to 25 people. If spaces fill up, you may ask to have your name added to a waiting list by sending us an email.

Register: Although the tours are free and open to the public, you must register in advance to attend by filling out this ONLINE FORM. Please note that free parking at the Farm is becoming more limited. Paid parking is available at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Museum.

COST: Admission is free, but donations are gratefully accepted during the tour. Places are limited, so first come, first served.

Please check our website for other similar events as well as for information about the Friends of the Farm, such as becoming a volunteer or a member, signing up for our information bulletins, or purchasing our publications about the Central Experimental Farm or our greeting cards featuring photos taken in the Ornamental Gardens – of particular interest is our book Blooms: An Illustrated History of the Ornamental Gardens at Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm.

INFO: Email info@friendsofthefarm.ca with questions or any issues with registration.