Be Listed on Canada's Garden Route

The country’s only national garden tourism promotion initiative

2017 Program

There are some big changes on the newly re-designed Canada’s Garden Route (CGR) website and we’re so excited to share the details with you.

The new site is much easier to navigate making finding garden experiences of all types as simple as the click of a button.

Some of the new bells and whistles include:

• a new Canada’s Garden Route logo
• A new look for the website, including:
• loads of added functionality
• the ability to post YouTube videos
• advertising capability
• mobile device compatibility
• An interactive map that will:
  • feature almost every garden experience listed on the site (previously only Feature Gardens were on the map)
  • feature the gardens and garden partners of the ten Destination Garden Networks that are currently being created in major centres from coast to coast;
  • feature the locations of the 150, 150th Celebration Gardens
  • enable you to plan the route of your next garden visit

and much, much more . . .

Without question, this is the one website that you should be listed on. To make the decision even easier, we’re now offering free listings for gardens as well as the opportunity for extra exposure should you elect to become a ‘Featured Garden’. In categories for which there continues to be a listing cost, we’ve held prices at 2015 rates, and are now offering extra savings to all Canadian Garden Council members.

Canada’s Garden Route is organized by the Canadian Garden Council with the support of Landscape Ontario Horticultural Trades Association, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, GardensBC, Ontario Garden Tourism Coalition, Association des jardins du Québec and Communities in Bloom.

Contact:
Michel Gauthier [email protected] tel: 613 301 4554
Carol Cowan [email protected] tel: 416 929 1066

2017 Canada’s Garden Route Marketing Plan

There are many elements to Canada’s Garden Route (CGR) marketing campaign, such as, but not limited to:

•  A national digital media advertising campaign geared to ‘delivering’ the garden- loving public right to your website
• A national media relations campaign including Garden Route spokesperson: Larry Hodgson, author of The Garden Lover's Guide to Canada
• Promotional campaigns with national media partners
• Promotion of CGR website on all participant websites and in each of their local promotions
• CGR media launch during Garden Days – June 9 – 18, Canada’s 10-day celebration of gardens and gardening held annually and culminating over the Father’s Day weekend. To register your activity, visit www.gardendays.ca
• A CGR presence at Canada Blooms (2017 attendance was 250,000)
• CGR contests held by each Feature Garden. Interest in this contest is high as annually more than 150,000 ballots are filled out by garden visitors across the country.
• CGR national web contest supported by all garden participants
• Various promotions with sponsors and partners: Garden Making, Communities in Bloom, Landscape Ontario, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, provincial, municipal and DMO tourism organizations and more . . .
• Promotion on all Canadian Garden Council websites

Your Garden Events

Thanks to an on-going collaboration with the country’s only national English gardening magazine – GardenMaking – you can now ensure that your special events get local, regional and national exposure. The ‘Events’ button on the CGR site links directly to the GardenMaking events site where you can list your events at no cost.

For visitors looking for gardens to visit while they’re looking at all the events on the GardenMaking site, there is a reciprocal link back to the CGR site.

Talk about a win-win for everyone!

Do You Have a Garden Experiences to Promote?

If you are a garden destination or attraction or have a garden, a garden or flower-related festival, a destination garden centre or a garden network or trail, you should be on Canada’s Garden Route.

If you are a garden-focused community, your community, as well as your special gardens and/or garden festivals, should be on Canada’s Garden Route.

If you have a garden experience of any kind, make sure you are on CGR and benefit from Canada’s only national garden promotion vehicle.

How to be Part of Canada’s Garden Route

Level and cost of participation

On the newly designed site we’re also making changes to the way in which gardens will be recognized.

GARDENS – complimentary listing
This is the most basic level in which you can ensure your garden has a presence on CGR. Your listing will be comprised of: the name of your garden, its address, link to your website, pin on the google map. (Note: This option only applies to gardens. It does not apply to garden networks/trails, garden & flower festivals, destination garden centres or garden community destinations.

SUBMIT YOUR ‘GARDENS CATEGORY' LISTING

LISTINGS IN ALL OTHER CATEGORIES
For enhanced garden listings, that will put you in the ‘Featured Gardens’ category, as well as all other categories, following is the cost and benefits of your listing.

If you’d like to be listed in any of the below categories, contact [email protected] and we will ensure that your listing is posted as soon as possible.

FEATURED GARDENS
$500 for Canadian Garden Council members
$750 for non-Council members

• name of your garden
• 100-word description
• address and hyperlink to your website url
• photo gallery of up to 5 images
• ability to post YouTube videos, which will also be displayed on a rotational basis on the home page of the site
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• ability to let visitors know you have the following: restaurant on site, admission fee, wheelchair accessibility, tour bus parking, public parking, easily accessible to public transit, self guided audio tours, docents, tour packages, give shop and special events
• opportunity to hold a CGR contest for your visitors.
• opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials.

GARDEN NETWORKS/TRAILS
Canadian Garden Council member pricing
$400 to list up to 7 garden experiences
$800 to list 8+ garden experiences

Non-Council member pricing
$500 to list up to 7 garden experiences
$1,000 to list 8+ garden experiences

• Featured under the ‘Garden Networks/Trails’ button on the CGR website
• 100-word description of your network/trail, plus list of all gardens in the network/trail program and their url’s
• photo gallery of up to 5 images
• hyperlink to your network/trail website url
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• opportunity for visitors to your website to link to the national CGR e-contest.
• opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials

GARDEN & FLOWER FESTIVALS
Canadian Garden Council member pricing
$200 (budget less than $250,000)
$500 ($250,000+ budget)

Non-Council member pricing
$300 (budget less than $250,000)
$650 ($250,000+ budget)

• Featured under the ‘Garden & Flower Festivals’ button on the CGR website
• 100-word description of your Festival
• photo gallery of up to 5 images
• address and hyperlink to your website url
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• Opportunity for visitors to your website to link to the national CGR e-contest.
• Opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials

HERITAGE GARDENS
$200 for Canadian Garden Council members
$350 for non-Council members

• Featured under the ‘Heritage Gardens’ button on the CGR website
• 50-word description of your garden
• photo gallery of up to 3 images
• address and hyperlink to your website url
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• Opportunity for visitors to your website to link to the national CGR e-contest.
• Opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials
• You can elect to have your Garden listed on the ‘Garden’ AND the ‘Heritage Gardens’ pages.

DESTINATION GARDEN CENTRES
$300 for Canadian Garden Council members
$400 for non-Council members

• Featured under the ‘Destination Garden Centres’ button on the CGR website
• 75-word description of your garden centre
• photo gallery of up to 3 images
• address and hyperlink to your website url
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• Opportunity for visitors to your website to link to the national CGR e-contest.
• Opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials

GARDEN DESTINATION COMMUNITIES
$300 for Canadian Garden Council members
$400 for non-Council members

• Featured under the ‘Garden Community Destinations’ button on the CGR website
• 75-word description of your Community
• photo gallery of up to 3 images
• address and hyperlink to your website url
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• Opportunity for visitors to your website to link to the national CGR e-contest.
• Opportunity to list specific gardens and garden festivals within your community
• Opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials

FLEURONS DU QUEBEC COMMUNITIES
$300 for Canadian Garden Council members
$400 for non-Council members

• Featured under the ‘Fleurons du Québec’ button on the CGR website
• 75-word description of your Community
• photo gallery of up to 3 images
• address and hyperlink to your website url
• highlighted on the Canada’s Garden Route map
• Opportunity for visitors to your website to link to the national CGR e-contest.
• Opportunity to list specific gardens and garden festivals within your community
• Opportunity to use the CGR logo on your website and in your promotional materials

For more information, or to have your garden and/or garden experience listed on Canada’s Garden Route, please contact [email protected]

To become a member of the Canadian Garden Council, please visit: http://gardencouncil.ca/membership.php