International Peace Garden and Lots of Pictures of Pretty Flowers


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Published: August 26th 2007
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Despite living in North Dakota most of my life, I'm ashamed to admit that I have never before been to the International Peace Garden. Decided to finally take care of that. The Garden is located on the US-Canadian border with an equal half on both sides. 2007 is its 75th Anniversary having been dedicated in 1932. Construction on the Garden actually started in 1934 and was built primarily by the Civilian Conservation Corps of the United States. According to a brochure provided, the workers continued working at the site until the calling of World War II.

The Garden is almost 2,400 acres in total. It has two 3 mile loops on each side so you can drive through the pretty landscape of trees, hills and lakes that make up this section of the world. It has several hiking and nature trails and bike routes. At the entrance of the park, the border is marked by two beams which do not touch designating the border. Throughout the gardens you see the obvious border line marked as well by a brick border of water.

The most obvious feature besides all the flowers is the huge Peace Tower. Four towers make up the Tower with each being 120 feet tall. The Tower was completed in 1983. Two are located on the US side and two on the Canadian side. According to the brochure, the Tower's height represents the early immigrants' soaring ambitions. Depending upon the direction you are looking, the tower can appear to be only two towers, three or four. Located next to it is a Peace Chapel which is a place of rememberance. There are numerous quotes of peace lining the walls inside the chapel. The Chapel was built in 1968 and is the only building which straddles the US-Canadian border.

The Formal Garden is very pretty, even this time of year when nearing the fall. Apparently, it's pretty no matter what time of year you go with variations of flowers. It also contains a floral design of the US and Canadian flags. The brochure stated that new floral designs are displayed each year with only the two floral flag designs staying the same from year to year which gives visitors a reason to return each year. The Garden contains several different sections including ponds, waterfalls and fountains.

The 9/11 Memorial is the newest memorial and contains ten steel beams rescued from the former New York World Trade Center according to the brochure. They were brought to the Garden in 2002 as a memorial to those who died on September 11, 2001. The memorial also has a small monument of rock gathered by children of the US and Canada.

The Bell Tower tolls the Westminster Chimes every 15 minutes. The bells range in weight of 250 to 2,000 pounds. The Tower is also dedicated to war veterans and looks out upon the formal garden.

The Floral Clock is a 15 foot working floral clock located at the entrance. According to the brochure, it's run by a GPS receiver and contains between 2,500-3,000 flowers depending upon the design. The clock was originally donated in 1966 by the Bulova Watch Company and is a replica of a clock in Berne, Switzerland. It has since been replaced by the GPS clock which was donated by a St. Louis, MO company. Also at the entrance are several other smaller gardens.

There are also some lodges located around the Gardens as well as a Game Warden Museum, Auditoreum and other features. Today, there is also an International Music Camp in
Looking UpLooking UpLooking Up

Peace Tower
residence.

The Park is extremely peaceful and serene. You can wander it for hours taking moments to sit and reflect or to look at the incredible flower designs. I am so happy to have finally toured and hope to make it back again in the near future.



Additional photos below
Photos: 22, Displayed: 22


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DaisyDaisy
Daisy

My favorite flower
Formal GardensFormal Gardens
Formal Gardens

Run the length to the Peace Towers
Entrace to GardenEntrace to Garden
Entrace to Garden

Shows the boundary line between US and Canada
Inside the Peace ChapelInside the Peace Chapel
Inside the Peace Chapel

Quotes of peace line the walls.
US-Canada Boundry LineUS-Canada Boundry Line
US-Canada Boundry Line

Which runs the length of the formal gardens.


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