Celebrating Art, Nature, and Community — Essence of the Garden is the 2nd annual plein air art exhibition and sale featuring over 100 original artworks created outdoors at Toronto Botanical Garden and Edwards Gardens. This curated, site-specific show invites visitors to experience the Garden through the eyes of the artists who paint here—capturing moments of light, movement, and the essence of the natural world.
Saturday, October 3 through 18, 2026
Open Daily, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Free Admission
This exhibition coincides with Toronto’s Ravine Days , an annual city-wide celebration of Toronto’s ravine system.
Presenting Sponsor: Foresters Financial
What You’ll See
Over 100 plein air paintings celebrating the Garden created by 46 talented local artists
Artworks displayed in public spaces across the Visitor Centre and are available for sale.
Visit the Garden Shop for unique, artist-made gifts and mini works
Engage with the artist(s) who will be hosting workshops and will be onsite throughout the exhibition painting ‘plein air’
Meet the Artists
Funmilola Adeseun
Jo Baumann
Zora Bily
Olga Olesya Bondareva
Carolyn M.Boyd
Marsha Brown
June Buick
Perry Chow
Tammy Hoy Cutler
Stella Dai
Eric David
Les DeSouza
Natalie Ditchburn
Paul Dolgov
Vivian East
Barbara Eguchi
Anastasia Eve
Claudia Fernandez
Terri Flaser
Doug Geldart
Dougal M.Haggart
Hanna Heger
David Johns
Lawrence Kavanagh
Jan Kraus
Win Kuplosky
Louisa Lau
Sylvia Le Roy
Hanifa Mamujee
Maria Matic (Amrylismatic)
Nola McConnan
Theo McLaren
Fariba Mirhosseini
Tanya Murdoch
Noelle Oberding
Tanya Onieogou
Tina Papoutsis
Carolyne Pascoe
Piera Pugliese
Jenny Reid
Margaret Roseman
Alexandra Sharma
Adele Steinberg
Cameron Stewart
Rosemary Tannock
Adriana Toth
Click here for Artist bios
Take Home a Piece of the Garden
Artwork will be available for purchase throughout the run of the show—buy your favourite painting and take home a piece of the Garden. Additional items from participating artists will be available at the Garden Shop and/or pop-up boutique, including miniature art, prints, cards, and magnets. Sales support both the artists and Toronto Botanical Garden’s community programming.
Our Partners
Don Valley Art Group
Toronto Heliconian Club
Toronto Watercolour Society
Willowdale Group of Artists
Women’s Art Association of Canada
Thank you to Snaptique for capturing highlights of our Opening Night 2025 with their vintage photo booth. Snaptique has been providing fun photo activations since 2014. They are the best photo booth rental in Kitchener , Ottawa, and Calgary.
Venue photograph: Dembroski Building by Canmenwalker, resized. Source: commons.wikimedia.org/… — CC BY 4.0: creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Toronto Botanical Garden · 777 Lawrence Ave E
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