The International Peace Garden saw a summer of challenges due to COVID-19 and border closures.  However, the Peace Garden did provide a haven for those families and friends from both sides of the border wanting to spend time with each other, even if it were for an afternoon.

"We had a few Canadian visitors who opted to venture in to the Peace Garden and take their 14-day quarantine when they returned home,"  says IPG Marketing Director, Melinda Goodman. "We jokingly called them 'COVID Couples'.

"The number of visitors that came to the Peace Garden was certainly down some from Manitoba, in part from people just choosing to stay home and shelter in place and be safe," she says.

Goodman says this summer provided perfect growing conditions for the hundreds of thousands of flowers throughout the Gardens, and it was a true disappointment that they couldn't share this banner year with the thousands who would typically visit them during the summer months.

"We had perfect weather!  It's such a shame that more people couldn't come and visit, particularly our Manitoba friends," she adds. "The gardens were really beautiful!  In fact, as Manitoba had prepared for their 150th anniversary, we also planned to celebrate that and actually themed many of our gardens with a Manitoba 150 theme with the flag planted in flowers, a Manitoba landscape formal planting, as well as the Manitoba tartan."