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End of an era as Minter Gardens set to close Garden centre will remain open, but this will be the final season for the famous show garden Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
Shock is still rippling across Chilliwack. Minter Gardens will close its doors later this year — apparently done in by declining tourism numbers and climate change. The Minters announced Tuesday it is “with mixed feelings” that they are closing and selling the sprawling 32-acre show gardens at the foot of Mt. Cheam in Rosedale. “Minter Gardens has been a huge part of our lives,” said Brian Minter, who co-owns the property with wife and business partner, Faye Minter. It’s been exceedingly “difficult” to make the final decision. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime dream to create one of the most beautiful gardens in the world. Few people have the opportunity to live out their dreams so we consider ourselves truly blessed.” Minter Gardens will officially close its doors on Monday, October 14, 2013. The decision does not impact the Country Garden Store location on Young Road in Chilliwack, which will continue operations. Since opening in 1980, Minter Gardens became a destination for garden fans. In good years, there would be 10,000 people through the gates. “The attraction has felt the pressure of declining tourism and a changing climate that offers up more cold, rainy days than the abundantly sunny ones that attract visitors to the grounds,” Minter says. “Together, these factors have significantly impacted the longterm viability of operating an outdoor destination garden.” Continued: MINTER/ p4
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Minter Gardens will be closing Oct. 14. Founder Brian Minter, seen here with daughter Lisa Minter-Bustin, says he’s looking forward to spending more time with his grandchildren, Katie and Sam Bustin. JENNA HAUCK/ PROGRESS
Closure of Minter Gardens felt across Chilliwack Jennifer Feinberg The Progress
The news of the impending closure of Minter Gardens later this year is hitting Chilliwack leaders hard. Tourism Chilliwack head Brian Coombes said the gardens will be exceedingly hard to replace from a destination point of view. “It will be just a tremendous loss for the entire tourism industry, not only in the Fraser Valley but across all of B.C.,” he said. “A world-class
garden attraction that welcomed guests for 33 years is not something easily replaced.” The family showed great leadership and initiative. “The Minters were pioneers in tourism for the region in the 1980s. They had the vision to create something spectacular; that would be a draw for the entire Fraser Valley. They led the way in a number of ways from the attraction to marketing. “The gardens became iconic and to have them close will be
significant.” CEPCO president John Jansen called the decision “a loss not only for the community but for the entire province.” Minter Gardens was the kind of stellar attraction that Jansen would regularly send visitors to without hesitation. “As a large attraction in beautiful surroundings, the natural ambiance was absolutely wonderful,” he said. When Brian Minter told Jansen he would be shutting down the
gardens come fall, Jansen said it made him quite emotional. “The location had so much going for it, it was just perfect. But it’s understandable that if you can’t make ends meet, you can’t survive.” It is hoped efforts will be successful at making the site viable for another enterprise in the future. “I don’t know what they’re planning to do exactly, but certainly we would be willing to help out in whatever way we could.” Continued: GARDEN/ p4
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