009 Dunvegan Gardens

A fallen blossom

When I was a kid growing up in Fort McMurray my mom used to load up the minivan with all the kids and head up to MacKenzie Market in Gregoire. Their storefront always had interesting trinkets and the greenhouse was always teeming with life. In the spring, we bought flowering plants for outdoor gardening. My sister and I scavenged for fallen blossoms on the floor in order to "sneak" them home with us. We ran up and down the aisles of green plants to the sound of birds chirping and water trickling in the fountains. We even visited the greenhouse during the colder months and bought 3" tropicals for transplanting indoors.


MacKenzie Market was purchased by Dunvegan Gardens in 2001. Following that, Dunvegan also purchased Gray Gardens located in Draper. Finally, in 2009 the Gregoire gift shop and greenhouse was moved to the Draper location. Since then, the property on the banks of the Clearwater River has blossomed into "The Farm" it is today.

"The Farm"

Tunes and a treat for the drive.

No matter the season or the weather you can go for a drive past Waterways, down the meandering Draper Road to visit Dunvegan Gardens. In the spring (pining for summer after the longest winter ever) I grabbed my favourite drink, cranked the Hawaiian tunes and opened the sunroof for the drive down to pick up my gardening favourites. Occasionally throughout the summer I packed up the kids and a picnic lunch to take them to the playground at Dunvegan and to show them the rabbits and chickens being raised there. In the fall they had fresh veggies available for purchase. In recent years they also hosted a Corn Maze, although the spring flood prevented this from opening in the fall of 2013. The gift shop is open year round, but the Christmas decor and charming gift ideas make the drive down in the winter very worthwhile.

For more info, visit the Dunvegan Gardens website or take a drive down in person!

Please feel free to share your experience by commenting on this post or Tweet me a picture!

A classic Wood Buffalo statue greets the Dunvegan visitor