Arboretum History
Arboretum History

The Italian Garden

Header image: The Italian Garden, 2019

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The Italian Garden is an instalment in The Arboretum’s Garden Project. This garden is designed to showcase Italian landscape architecture from the Renaissance period. The Villa Medici in Rome, Villa d’Este in Tivoli, Villa Lante in Bagnaia, Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati and Villa Farnese in Caprarola served as inspiration. Today, visitors can enjoy the Italian Garden’s simple layout, enclosing yew hedges, fountain pond and statues.

To learn more about the Italian Garden, visit the Gardens page on The Arboretum’s main website.

A group of staff gather around a newly placed garden pool. Most staff speak in a group around the pool. One woman sits on the edge of the pool, a man stands in the pool, and another poses with her arms outstretched on the edge. The area surrounding the pool is overturned dirt.

Construction of the Italian Garden, 2002.

Small bushes grow in mulch surrounding a circular garden with a fountain at its centre.

The Italian Garden, 2006.

Sculpted hedges surround a garden with a fountain at its centre.

The Italian Garden, 2015.

Two large green shrubs frame an entryway into a garden. A dirt path enters the garden and surrounds a pond with a large fountain in the centre. A lush green forest is seen in the background.

Italian Garden, 2020.

This is a sampling of some of the many photos that have been taken and people that have been a part of The Arboretum’s 50 years of operations. Do you have some photos you would like to share? Upload them to our Arboretum History Kudoboard.

The land where The Arboretum now grows has been home to plants and animals for thousands of years. It was home to Indigenous peoples before settlers arrived. We recognize the Dish with One Spoon territory, the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Between the Lakes Treaty 3 lands on which the University of Guelph and The Arboretum now sit. We are honoured to work on and care for this land.