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A national botanical garden has been a dream for Ottawa since at least 1887. But this time around, it’s a dream that will become a reality, vows a group that aims to see ground broken on the Central Experimental Farm next year.

The goal: a garden of international caliber on 34 acres bounded by Prince of Wales Drive and the Rideau Canal, with a grand opening in 2019.

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“Canadensis, the Garden of Canada,” would feature exhibition grounds, a children’s garden, an aboriginal garden and embassy gardens as well as a conservatory with birds and butterflies, a restaurant with food grown in the “urban garden,” a boutique, conference space and meeting rooms.

Amenities would include an outdoor amphitheatre for concerts, and programs like winter walks and horticulture lectures and workshops. It would be a showcase for Agriculture Canada horticultural research and offer the wow factor of water gardens, a canopy walk with a view over the treetops and a living green tower as a vertical landmark. There would be a green element: all of the surface water is to be managed on site and buildings are to be LEED certified.