Daffodil Garden for Cancer Survivors

The Daffodil Garden for Cancer Survivors is the first garden of its kind in Atlantic Canada: a waterfront green space at the eastern end of Ferry Terminal Park in downtown Dartmouth, built for everyone touched by cancer. More than 40,000 daffodil bulbs naturalize and multiply each spring, and the garden carries the display through every season with plantings chosen for continuous colour. It sits on the shores of Punamu'kwati'jk, Mi'kma'ki, a short walk from the Alderney Landing ferry terminal and easily reached by bus. Admission is free of barriers and of cost; the garden is open daily from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., year-round, and wheelchair accessible throughout.

A Dream Built by Two Survivors

The garden exists because Judie and Jim Edgar, two cancer survivors, dreamed of creating a space in Nova Scotia for all those touched by the disease. Both knew the life-changing weight of a diagnosis, and they wanted a meeting place for rejuvenation, inspiration, and education. Their definition of survivor is deliberately wide: the person diagnosed, and the family, friends, coworkers, caregivers, and clinical staff who walk the same road. The garden opened after plantings began in 2020, with 6,000 bulbs in the ground in late 2020 and more than 13,000 added in 2021; volunteers have kept planting since, which is how the count climbed past 40,000. The garden's own site traces the story, and the project drew coverage from CBC and CTV as it grew.

Sculpture, Pathways, and Benches With Words

The design carries the mission in its details. At the centre stands a commissioned sculpture by Ivan Higgins of Concrete Creations in Liverpool, Nova Scotia: three figures representing childhood, adulthood, and the senior years, each a survivor, each connected by cancer. Two pathways, named Path to Recovery and Positive Attitude Way, curve through the garden to form the shape of a single awareness ribbon, deliberately not coloured for any one cancer. The yellow daffodil benches were custom designed by Outside! Landscape Architects, with motivational messages etched into their backs, messages chosen with the help of oncologist Dr. Katharina Keiser, and daffodils etched into the seats as a tribute to the Canadian Cancer Society. Each pair of chairs is turned toward the other, to encourage conversation.

Why the Daffodil

The garden's own explanation is worth repeating: the daffodil is a resilient flower, a bulb that thrives through cold winter months and emerges in spring as yellow bloom, which makes it a symbol of hope. When the spring display finishes, fountain grass, hostas, cranesbill, day lilies, and lavender carry the garden through the rest of the year.

Visiting

The garden needs no booking and no ticket. Arrive by ferry from Halifax and walk east along the waterfront from Alderney Landing; the neighbouring park at Martin's Park holds the touch tanks of the Back to the Sea Centre in summer, making a gentle afternoon of the whole Dartmouth shoreline. The garden's site is daffodilgarden.ca, and its Facebook page carries news and the messages survivors leave. For the wider neighbourhood, see our Dartmouth guide, and for the Halifax side of the harbour, our Halifax waterfront guide.