Aga Khan Garden, 11th of its kind in the world, unveiled in Canada

A new Aga Khan Garden has been inaugurated in Alberta, the first garden of its kind in western Canada.

Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Lois Mitchell, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley and the Aga Khan inaugurated the garden on Tuesday. It is the 11th such garden in the world.

According to AKDN the creation of parks and gardens is an important part of its work, particularly in several rapidly urbanising cities in the developing world, including Cairo, Egypt, Bamako, Mali, Kabul, Afghanistan and New Delhi.

The garden was a gift to the University of Alberta to celebrate over 40 years of partnership between the AKDN and the University of Alberta.

The construction of the garden marked both the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation and the Aga Khan’s Diamond Jubilee - 60 years since he became Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslim community.

The 4.8-hectare Mughal-inspired space is shaped by traditional Islamic landscape design, but takes on strikingly contemporary features, AKDN says.

Garden elements from some of the world’s best works of Muslim architecture -- including the Taj Mahal and Humayun’s Tomb in India - are interspersed with distinctively Canadian features, from Alberta’s wild rose beds to Canadian-quarried stonework.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley emphasised the alignment of values between the University and the AKDN, and thanked the Aga Khan for his leadership and generosity.

She called the garden “an oasis and a sign of Alberta’s welcome to the world” and said that “we stand with you to build a fair and more inclusive world.”

The Aga Khan spoke of his “happiness” in seeing the Garden come to fruition and spoke of the Garden as a social space, “a place for learning, for sharing, for romance, for diplomacy, for reflection on the destiny of the human race.”

Designed by landscape architect, Thomas Woltz, of the world-renowned landscape architecture firm Nelson Byrd Woltz in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the gGarden provides a stunning example of Islamic landscape architecture -- exploring the beauty and boundaries of vegetation, light, water, geometry, symmetry, adaptation and human scale, AKDN says.

The serenity of nature is highlighted in each of the design elements including secluded forest paths, granite and limestone terraces, still pools that reflect the prairie sky and a waterfall that tumbles over textured stone.

Fruit orchards extend around the large Calla Pond, and the Garden contains more than 25,000 trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals and wetland plants, selected for fragrance, beauty and the ability to thrive in Alberta’s climate.

Twelve water features and fountains are sprinkled around the garden, which took 18 months to construct.