Picture yourself one late-June morning, the air still cool, a light breeze carrying an intoxicating fragrance several yards in every direction. Before you, garden beds extend in graceful rows, blanketed with sumptuous blooms in pearly white, soft pink, deep red, and luminous coral… Welcome to the Roger-Van den Hende University Garden, on the Université Laval campus in Quebec City, home to one of the finest peony collections in Canada!
An exceptional garden, unique in North America
This public garden showcases nearly 4,000 species and cultivars organized by botanical family. It is a true living laboratory — both a place of research and teaching and a green oasis freely open to all plant lovers.
Its story begins with a passionate man, Roger Van den Hende, born in Belgium in 1909. A professor of botany at the Faculty of Agriculture at Université Laval, he proposed the creation of a teaching garden in 1963. Working with a meager budget, Professor Van den Hende began building the plant collection in 1965 through seeds, cuttings, and exchanges with other institutions. The project took concrete shape in 1966 on a former farm field. Open to the public since 1978, the Garden now spans six hectares (about 15 acres) and welcomes more than 50,000 visitors each year.
The Peony Collection: A Story of Love and Generosity
At the heart of the Garden, the peonies hold a place of honor all their own, and their story is deeply touching. The peonies of the Roger-Van den Hende University Garden are gathered into a harmonious set of beds. The collection was greatly enriched, among other contributions, by a donation from Mrs. Yvette Lapointe, a member of the Société québécoise de la pivoine (the Quebec Peony Society).
Yvette Lapointe, a retired nurse, had built up over nearly thirty years a collection of some 750 cultivars, with bloom times stretching from mid-June to early August. Her property in Matane-sur-Mer, along the St. Lawrence River, had become over the decades a true peony sanctuary. Recognized by her peers, Mrs. Lapointe even had the honor of seeing a new peony named after her in 2014 — a cultivar developed by hybridizer Serge Fafard.
In 2017, 420 of Mrs. Lapointe’s peonies were moved to Université Laval to be showcased and preserved at the heart of the Roger-Van den Hende Botanical Garden. The primary goal of this undertaking was the survival of this impressive collection, some of whose oldest cultivars have since disappeared from the market. Mrs. Lapointe passed away in 2021, but her extraordinary legacy continues to flourish every June under the wondering eyes of visitors. What a beautiful way to keep a passion alive!
June: The Great Peony Rendezvous
The second half of June is the main peony bloom period in the Quebec City region. It is therefore the perfect time to appreciate the entire collection, from the earliest varieties to the latest cultivars. Of course, the year’s weather has a strong say in the calendar — a warm spring can move everything forward by a good week!
Three main types of peonies to discover
For visitors not used to peonies, it is helpful to know that there are three broad categories of these magnificent plants — all represented in the Garden’s collection:
• Herbaceous peonies: the most familiar type. Their above-ground parts die back to the soil each fall and regrow on new stems in spring. Their colors range from white to red through every shade of pink. These are the traditional peonies of our Quebec garden beds.
• Tree peonies (also called “shrub peonies”): they form woody-stemmed shrubs that do not die back in winter. Their flowers can reach 25 cm (about 10 inches) across — quite a spectacle! They also offer yellow and violet shades not found in the herbaceous types.
• Intersectional peonies (or Itoh peonies): hybrids resulting from crosses between the first two categories. They combine the enormous flowers of tree peonies with herbaceous stems that die back in autumn. It is in this group that we find the new varieties with sulfur-yellow, orange, or deep violet flowers that delight collectors.
A late-June visit lets you observe several cultivars of each category in full bloom — a true crash course in applied botany!
For more details on peony biology and cultivation, we recommend Larry Hodgson’s excellent 2024 article on the Laidback Gardener blog.
A few practical tips for planning your visit
When to go? The second half of June is ideal for peonies.
Opening hours: The University Garden is open every day: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Weekday mornings offer perfect quiet for budding photographers!
Admission is free. A suggested donation of CA$2 to CA$5 helps maintain the grounds. It is very little for such a spectacle, and it goes directly toward caring for this irreplaceable collection. The site is easily accessible for people with reduced mobility and young families with strollers.
Parking: All parking lots, including those with parking meters, are free on Saturdays, Sundays, and statutory holidays. For weekday visits, plan on a few dollars or check Université Laval’s parking rules.
The address: The Garden is located at 2480, boulevard Hochelaga, Quebec City (QC) G1V 0A6, right next to the Robert-Bourassa Highway, behind the Place Sainte-Foy shopping center. It is accessible by tour bus.
A photographer’s tip: Peonies are at their best in the very early morning, before the heat of the day weighs down the heaviest heads. The low, raking light of the first hours also brings out the colors and textures of the petals. If you plan on using your phone, make sure the battery is fully charged!
Plan a good hour and a half on site, or two hours if you also want to explore the water garden, the herbacetum, and the rhododendron pergola (another jewel of the site!).
A visit that will linger long in memory
Visiting the Roger-Van den Hende Garden in late June is more than a simple stroll through a botanical garden. It is a genuine tribute to several generations of plant lovers — Roger Van den Hende himself, Yvette Lapointe, and all the gardeners and students who tend this living heritage with remarkable care.
It is also a wonderful chance to admire, in a peaceful and carefully tended setting, plants that have crossed the centuries and still amaze us. What better way to celebrate the arrival of summer?
If you would like to introduce us to another garden in your own region, please feel free to mention it in the comments section below. Our readers from your area will be most grateful.
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