How the Garden Grew

“What a desolate place, what a world without flowers! It would be a face without a smile, a feat without a welcome.”   Clara L. Balfour

Kingsbrae Garden was created by John and Lucinda Flemer to preserve and maintain into perpetuity the family’s former estate. Its architecture and gardens have long been an important part of the historic fabric of the community. The Flemers made the financial commitment needed to inspire the Province of New Brunswick, the Town of St. Andrews, and the local community to partner with them in bringing this provincial jewel to fruition for the enjoyment of both the local residents and visiting public.

The 27-acre horticultural masterpiece officially opened its gates in the spring of 1998, unveiling an array of over 2,500 species of perennials, as well as, a wide variety of trees and shrubs.  Now a major tourist attraction, Kingsbrae Garden has been recognized with a number major awards for both the product and the services it provides. Most recently in addition to being ranked the #1 Thing to Do in the Region by Trip Advisor, Kingsbrae Garden was recognized in 2017 for being a top Canadian Garden nationally to visit to celebrate Canada 150 and having the nation’s top marketing campaign. Kingsbrae Garden Founder, Mrs. Flemer,  also received the prestigious Garden Person of the Year by the Canadian Garden Tourism Awards in March of 2017.

With the downturn of industry in the nineties, the Flemers wanted to do something about the rising unemployment and recognized that, by creating Kingsbrae Garden, the job opportunities would keep families in this area. Kingsbrae is much more than a Garden and with its ever growing arts and culture base, career and training opportunities have been created in the horticulture, culinary and the arts fields. Perhaps what sums this up best is a quote from Lucinda Flemer “Even more important to us, here at Kingsbrae Garden, than growing plants is helping our community and the people of this area grow as well”.

Kingsbrae Garden only uses environmentally acceptable best practises and was designated a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary very early on in its construction phase. Kingsbrae continues this environmental mind set in our every day maintenance and gardening projects.

Today, the Garden includes an extraordinary collection of rhododendrons, roses & day lilies and many themed gardens: White, Knot, Bird & Butterfly to name a few. Other features are labyrinth, cedar maze, ponds, a genuine Dutch windmill (1/3-scale) and a wooded trail through rare old-growth forest. Around the site, you will find alpacas, peacocks, pygmy goats, Canada’s first “Jurassic living fossil” Wollemi pine and numerous splendid sculptures.