The Leaf at Canada's Diversity Gardens

The Leaf is the centrepiece of Canada’s Diversity Gardens. The Leaf will offer visitors a multi-seasonal experience and be the most visually stunning place of its kind in North America.

An architecturally brilliant 6,000+ square metre facility, The Leaf will feature four distinct zones that transport visitors through entirely different climates and environments. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore the biomes at their leisure by following a series of interconnected paths, leading them through a number of hands-on interactive experiences.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE…

  • A restaurant will inspire new connections between nature and culture through unique and worldly cuisine.
  • Meeting spaces will invite daytime usage, followed by a stream of evening and weekend functions such as weddings and celebrations of all kinds.
  • The building will be a global leader in energy efficiency through the use of geothermal and solar technology.

All images are concept renderings only.
The Leaf interior, lobby
  • The Leaf interior, Tropical Biome

    TROPICAL BIOME

    Visitors will be immersed in the warmth and vibrancy of the Tropical Biome, where exotic plants and a balmy environment will create an oasis, particularly during the winter months. This rainforest-like paradise will be brimming with tropical plants, bold textures and lush green colours. The largest of The Leaf's planted spaces; it will be home to leafy plant material from tropical regions of the world with some specimens reaching over six stories high over time.

  • The Leaf interior, Mediterranean Biome

    MEDITERRANEAN BIOME

    Colour will abound in the Mediterranean Biome as regions known for their superb fruits, fine wines and abundant crops are celebrated. Visitors will be surrounded by plant life from climatic zones characterized by moist, cool winters and hot, dry summers including Greece and Italy, as well as South Africa, South West Australia, Central Chile and California. The result will be a memorable mosaic of colour, texture and fragrance that reaches its peak during the winter months.

  • The Leaf interior, Display House

    Display House

    The ever-changing Babs Asper Display House will celebrate the art of horticulture, highlighted by rotating floral exhibits with global themes. Here, the focus is simple; to showcase the breathtaking beauty that only nature can achieve, through flowers and colours offered through seasonal displays.

  • The Leaf interior, Butterfly House

    Butterfly Garden

    Travel above the earth in an elevator to the magical Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden, where visitors of all ages will experience awe and wonder as they interact with some of the most beautiful butterfly species in the world. A year-round tropical paradise, the Butterfly Garden will appear to be soaring above the sea of plant life flourishing from below.

The Leaf interior, classroom

A LIVING CLASSROOM

Canada's Diversity Gardens and The Leaf will be a living classroom where school groups can participate in environmental education programs year-round. A broad botanical thread will weave through all activities, moving well beyond the traditional classroom by creating a living and learning lab for all ages that will foster engagement, investigation and exploration. Programs will tie the importance of plants to our development over time, our health and well-being, and will be the seed from which partnerships with community, non-profits, government and post-secondary institutions grow and flourish. These connections will be representative of the diverse, multicultural, and multi-generational community the programs serve. The indoor classroom space, encompassing biomes, and outdoor gardens will create platforms for distinctive programming. Canada's Diversity Gardens will provide a learning environment that influences people to care for nature and for each other.