Rideau Hall - Grounds

Grounds

Rideau Hall's 0.36 km2 (88 acre) property is surrounded by a 2,500 m (7,700 ft) long Victorian cast iron and cast stone fence put up in 1928, and contains uniquely Canadian landscapes designed in the natural style, including broad lawns, groves of trees, and meandering roads and pathways. The entire site is divided into five distinct areas: the wooded entrance park (trees, groundcover, daffodils, and lawn), the open parkland (meadow), the sugar bush, the ornamental gardens, and the farm (out-buildings, Rideau Cottage, and open area). The last once included a herd of cattle and fields used to grow hay, but today the only remaining agricultural ventures are the vegetable and herb gardens that have been present on the site since the time of the McKay family. From these fields, plants, fruits, and edible flowers are used in the palace kitchens, and a greenhouse and flower garden provide flowers for the hall and other government buildings in Ottawa. Further, during the early spring months, the maples throughout the property are tapped for syrup making. In total, more than 10,000 trees grow on the grounds.

As with the house that sits on them, the grounds too were transformed throughout the decades: Lady Byng created the existing rock garden, with a reflecting pool and wild corner for growing trilliums and orchids; a totem pole by Kwakiutl carver Mungo Martin was gifted to the Earl Alexander of Tunis by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia-in-Council; the Fountain of Hope was initiated by Gerda Hnatyshyn to mark the International Year of Disabled Persons, built in front of Rideau Hall, and dedicated to Terry Fox; and an inukshuk by artist Kananginak Pootoogook, from Cape Dorset, Nunavut, was built to commemorate the second National Aboriginal Day, in 1997. Also, each visiting dignitary to Rideau Hall is asked to plant a tree; as such, the park, mostly along the main drive, is dotted with nearly 100 trees with small plaques at their bases listing the name and office of the person who planted each particular tree. These include Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother; Diana, Princess of Wales; Prince Charles, Prince of Wales; King George VI; and numerous by Queen Elizabeth II. Foreign dignitaries who have planted trees include John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, Vicente Fox, and Emperor Akihito.

Throughout their history as a royal park, the gardens have hosted numerous activities and events. The earliest governors general added amenities such as a curling rink, a skating pond, toboggan runs, tennis courts, and the like, and many of the guests at Rideau Hall would partake in these outdoor activities, including prime ministers William Lyon Mackenzie King and Robert Borden, who would often skate on the iced over pond with the viceregal family. Of the tobogganing, Lieutenant William Galwey, a member of the survey team that laid out the Canada – United States border and later visited Rideau Hall in November 1871, said: "It is a most favourite amusement at Government House. Ladies go in for it. I think they like rolling over and over with the gentlemen."

The grounds of Rideau Hall have been open to the public since 1921, when the Lord Byng of Vimy's aide-de-camp resolved to open Government House to "all who had a right to be there," a move that outraged the traditionalists. Today an expanded visitors' centre has been established to facilitate tours. Further, garden parties are held by the viceroy in the summer months, continuing the tradition started by the Lord Lisgar in 1869, and each year the governor general holds a New Year's Levée, an event that traces its roots back to the French royal government, and which welcomes guests from the public to attend and participate in skating, sledding, and refreshments. The park also hosts the Rideau Hall Cricket Association and Ottawa Valley Cricket Council, which continues the tradition of cricket being played in the royal residence's gardens, beginning when the cricket pitch was laid out by the Viscount Monck in 1866. Matches continue to be played at the hall during summer weekends.