The Aga Khan Garden opened in 2019 at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden in Devonian Gardens, and is the world's northernmost Islamic garden. Designed by Canadian landscape architect Roland Sookias, it follows the ancient Persian charbagh tradition — a walled garden with water channels dividing the space into quadrants, oriented around a central pavilion.
The garden covers about 2.2 hectares and contains plants from across the Islamic world, adapted for survival in Alberta's extreme climate. The central water pavilion reflects the sky, and the geometric layout — symmetrical beds, stone paths, carved screens — creates an atmosphere of contemplative stillness that feels genuinely distant from the surrounding Canadian landscape.
The University of Alberta Botanic Garden is about 20 kilometres southwest of downtown Edmonton, near Devon. It is open from May through October. The drive out along the North Saskatchewan River valley is pleasant. Allow two to three hours to explore both the Aga Khan Garden and the surrounding botanic grounds.