Interpretive Centre & Conservatory Coming Soon!

The Interpretive Centre & Conservatory (IC&C) will indeed act as the “knowledge gateway” for visitors that are looking for information regarding the International Peace Garden (IPG) history, facilities, and programs. This is a must see building its unique design and architectural styling are LEED Silver rated demonstrating energy efficient design and construction. This area will act as the delivery space for traveling exhibits from across the USA and Canada. The Centre will also offer our visitors a new café with free wireless internet, a new retail souvenir shop, and a horticultural library.

The library will strive to provide information about “Prairie Horticulture” highlighting plants that are hardy to the area and gardening concepts that are suited to the regional environment. Two of our major book suppliers have been Timber Press and Storey Publishing some intriguing titles include: Deer Proofing your Garden, Best Bulbs for the Prairies, Best Trees, and Shrubs for the Prairies, and a selection of the Prairie Garden Annual Edition Series.

In addition, the IC&C will include stories regarding the roles that gardens have played throughout history in peace or conflict resolution and explanations of some basic landscape design theories regarding how the placement of shape, size, and color can affect the “feeling” of a garden. Here, we will be able to share the rich history and heritage of many different facets of prairie plant development including the research and introduction of ornamental plants and the role plants.

Our first exhibit will be the “Seeds of Victory”. To help the United States win World War I and World War II, civilians made do with less so there would be enough supplies for the armed forces. Planting a garden was encouraged by the federal government to supplement civilian shortages and allow raw materials to be diverted to the military. Through propaganda such as posters, governments and private entities encouraged growing one’s own food. Gardening and canning became patriotic acts. This exhibit features 34, full-color, war garden posters, reproduced from the originals held by the North Dakota State Archives.

There is great potential for the new Conservatory and it will have the ability to be grown incrementally out the south end of the original building as future funding allows. The Conservatory will house a collection of Cactus, Agave, Aloe, and Echeveria from a private collection. The complete collection includes several thousand individual accessions and we will rotate many examples of the collection throughout the year into the space.

We will also include a varied collection of tropical plants that will be highlighted with Orchids, Bromeliads, a varied selection of temperate to tropical bulbs, and many other distinct flowering plants. Winter visitors will have the opportunity to stroll through this tropical oasis located near the Garden Complex above the frozen prairie.

The facility is 50 feet by 56 feet of floor space and the sidewalls are 23 feet high with the centre ridge being 33 feet high. The primary path will be a broad figure eight bordered with retaining walls. The entire facility is recessed into the Interpretive Centre’s south end allowing for reduced heating impact on the exterior walls.

So visit early this summer you’ll be very glad you did and then plan to come back again and again to see the conservatory and ever changing Interpretive Centre displays. For a full rundown on seasonal events at the garden, please refer to our website www.peacegarden.com or call us toll free at (800) 432-6733.