Kingsbrae Garden Named to Top Five Travels of 2010-Worldwide

Kingsbrae Garden, a 27-acre public garden in the tiny Canadian town of St Andrews by-the-Sea, NB is named in the Top 5 Travels by author Steve Jermanok of Massachusetts, who travels the world in search of "authentic and memorable travel experiences".

"Strolling Kingsbrae Garden, St. Andrews, New Brunswick" is identified in the "Top 5 Travels", worldwide, by one well-travelled and published travel writer. Steve Jermanok and his photographer partner, Lisa Leavitt, were obviously keen and gratifyingly enthusiastic about the Garden on a lovely day in July.

The other four 'Top Travels for 2010' cited by Jermanok are:
Visiting the Maasai at Shompole, Kenya; Biking in Giverny, France, the Everglades, Florida and along the canals of Hertfordshire, England. This is pretty heady international company for the horticultural garden.

Kingsbrae Garden is happy to be included on such an impressive international list, and with confirmation that the Garden's staff is on the right path. In season, that staff swells to 50, taking care of all the different departments: propagating, planting, weeding, pruning, cooking, serving, interpretive guided tours, signage, animal care, sculpture and art presentation, garden workshops, plant centre and otherwise implementing new plans that are dreamed up each winter.

Jermanok says, on his Active Travels blog, "A good botanical garden has often been a highlight of my travels, from the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Capetown to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne to the Butchart Gardens in Victoria. So I was excited to walk through the Kingsbrae Gardens in St. Andrews this past July, especially after being cooped up in Down East Maine dealing with three solid days of rain." (www.activetravels.com)

His articles and books speak to "anyone in halfway decent shape who yearns for an authentic and memorable travel experience outdoors, far away from the masses".

Jermanok goes on to say "when the sun finally came out on the ferry ride over from Eastport [Maine] to New Brunswick, I could breathe again. Those breaths of fresh air soon became flower scented as I made my way through the wave of colors from flowers in bloom at Kingsbrae. Just across the Maine border, the quiet seaside town of St. Andrews is an undiscovered gem with Kingsbrae Gardens leading the way. Hummingbirds flew under the tall chestnut trees, water lilies dotted the fountains, and everywhere you looked, there was some whimsical sculpture nestled within the 27-acre grounds. I bent down and inhaled from the sweet-smelling rugosas and for a moment, everything was bliss."

Over the past two decades, Jermanok has been a columnist at National Geographic Adventure, adventure travel expert at Budget Travel, travel editor of the annual travel issue at the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and regular contributor on outdoor recreation for Outside, Men's Journal, Robb Report, Health, and many other publications. He has also authored or co-authored 11 books, including Outside Magazine's Adventure Guide to New England and Men's Journal's The Great Life. He is based in Newton, Massachusetts, USA, but I doubt his suitcases have any time to gather dust; Steve and Lisa must log a hefty stack of airmiles in a year.

National and international award-winning Kingsbrae Garden is open from Canada's Victoria Day weekend to Thanksgiving, daily, from 9am to 6pm - May 20 to October 8th, 2011.

Tens of thousands of visitors have similar reactions each year to the many themed gardens, 50,000+ perennials, dozens of sculptures, animals (alpacas, peacocks, ducks, pygmy goats) and unique features that contribute to the stellar nature of this superb and often whimsical garden. Add to that the wonderful local seafood and culinary delights, artisans, natural beauty and historic nature of St Andrews by-the-Sea for a perfect destination. www.kingsbraegarden.com