Horticulture and gardens
The City of Vaudreuil-Dorion is committed to being a "Garden-Friendly City" that supports the development of garden culture.
The City is proud to have a number of horticultural and edible facilities on its territory, in addition to offering five community garden sites for residents. It also has a signature garden and make sure to plant many melliferous plants.
The flowerbeds, planters and pots found throughout Vaudreuil-Dorion are composed of a variety of annuals and perennials, carefully selected to keep watering requirements to a minimum, and inert materials. All plants are watered with untreated water, some of which comes from rainwater collected from the roofs of the municipal workshops.
Fertilizers, composed of soy and compost, are used to fertilize the city's flowerbeds. Organic chemical fertilizers are used three times a season to promote flowering. Plants absorb almost 100% of the fertilizer, while the balance is absorbed by the soil. The city's horticultural team also takes care to avoid run-off water.
Four-star ranking
In November 2024, the Corporation des Fleurons du Québec awarded the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion a ''4 Fleurons'' classification. This classification is awarded to municipalities that demonstrate excellent horticultural beautification in most areas.
The assessment highlighted a number of distinctive features on the territory, such as the landscaping of Le 405 and Félix-Leclerc parks, as well as Maison Valois, Opticentre St-Jean-Baptiste and Centre communautaire Jean-Marc-Ducharme.
The ''4 Fleurons'' rating is valid for three years. The City was awarded its 4 fleurons for the first time in 2015.
Edible landscapes
Since 2015, two Jardins des découvertes have been set up: one adjacent to the arena and former library, and the other on the Mireault block. These gardens contain herbs and vegetables grouped by theme. Another edible landscape can be found at the Parc de la Maison-Valois. Everyone is welcome to come and discover new products and harvest them when the time comes.
Watch horticulture videoclips (in French) filmed in these gardens.
Self-service wood chips
Wood chips are available free of charge to residents. They can be picked up on a self-service basis at the entrance to the snow disposal site on rue du Voiturier, accessible from rang Saint-Antoine.
The wood chips come from branch collections or from tree felling and pruning in the city.
Horticultural Fair
The Horticultural Fair is one of the 73 actions that make up the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion's Strategic Plan 2020-2025. This event, expected to be held every year, aims to promote gardening activities. The Horticultural Fair is part of the Environmental Policy.
The Horticultural Fair is held each year in May. Citizens receive a distribution of compost, wood chips, eco-friendly grass seed, shrubs, small trees and more.
Since 2022, 20,000 trees have been planted at 34 sites in Vaudreuil-Dorion, transforming almost 9 hectares of land into small forests. These plantings were carried out as part of the Government of Canada's 2 Billion Trees Program.
Maintenance
During the first few years of small forest growth, vegetation clearing will be carried out on an ad hoc basis to reduce competition around small trees. In addition, reinforcement planting will be carried out as needed to replace trees that have died or been affected by various disturbances, such as small rodents, drought, ice storms, floods or insect pests.
In a few years' time, these small urban forests will:
- sequester carbon and help mitigate global warming;
- capture fine particle pollution from the air and produce oxygen;
- regenerate degraded soils;
- improve water filtering and limit rainwater runoff;
- cool the air, helping to locally reduce the effects of heat islands;
- reduce noise in the neighbourhood;
- in the longer term, provide citizens with privileged access to nature and benefit local fauna, flora and biodiversity.
Community gardens
Five community gardens are available during the summer season. One of the goals of this project is to provide residents of these areas, who do not have space for gardening, with access to healthy food, teach them the basics of gardening, and offer them an opportunity to interact with one another.
- Jardin des Abbesses (Pie-XII green space)
- Jardin des Loisirs (Sainte-Trinité park)
- Bourget Garden (Îlot Bourget)
- Jardin des Muguets (des Muguets green space)
- Jardin Lorne-Worsley (Lorne-Worsley park)
For more information, please refer to the community gardens regulation guide (in French).
Registrations
Individuals interested in obtaining a garden space must register with the Environment Division between February 1 and March 1 each year.
- environnement@ville.vaudreuil-dorion.qc.ca
- 450 455-3371
If the number of registrations exceeds the available garden spaces, a waiting list will be established in chronological order of request reception, following the “first come, first served” principle.
Eligibility Criteria
Community gardens are available exclusively to residents of the City of Vaudreuil-Dorion aged 18 and over. A proof of residence dated for the current year is required to obtain a garden space, and only one space per civic address will be granted.
Garden Space Allocation
Garden spaces are first reserved for gardeners from the previous year who have renewed their registration. Remaining spaces are then offered, in order of registration, to citizens on the waiting list until all spots are filled.
If garden spaces are still available after June 1, and no citizens remain on the waiting list, they will be assigned by random draw among gardeners who expressed interest in obtaining a second space during registration.
Jardinothèque
This new service, located in the municipal library, features a variety of organic, local, ancestral and indigenous seeds (herbs, flowers and vegetables) that will be offered free of charge to members.