Nestled up on the fourth floor of Calgary’s downtown shopping centre, The Core, is an indoor oasis filled with palm-trees, flowers, ponds and fountains. After spending our morning having brunch at The Coup, mom and I made our way to the mall, Starbucks in hand, and ventured on up to the fourth floor. Before we knew it we had crossed over from bustling shopping centre into a garden filled with the sounds of flowing water and the color green all around. It may have been in my mind, but instantly I even felt warmer, like it was summertime at last!
These Devonian Gardens fill up an entire hectare of the fourth floor of the mall, allowing guests to walk along the paths and enjoy. There was quite a number of people in the gardens, doing whatever they pleased. Strolling around the garden, children playing in the playground, couples having a coffee date, students studying, homeless folks finding shelter from the cold, teenagers practicing their juggling skills, and people having their hand at the piano set up for public use.
While there has long been an interest among people to throw coins into ponds, help keep the fish here safe by not doing so.
After walking throughout the garden and snapping a few photos, we seated ourselves beneath the palm-trees and I imagined myself on a warm, sandy beach with the waves of the ocean crashing before me. I was just about to take a sip from my pina colada when the sound of my mom’s voice brought me back to the reality. Thankfully, there were actually some palm trees in reality.
With a good three months of winter left to go here, I definitely think I will be finding myself here more and more, particularly when the time comes to study for university exams! The Devonian Gardens are open to all ages, is wheelchair accessible and is entirely free. If you need a mini-vacation away from the cold Canadian winter, take yourself here, sit under a palm tree and imagine the sound of the fountain is actually a waterfall in the tropics.