Designed as a place of healing and visual amenity, the garden provides hospital staff, patients and their families with a lush, tranquil environment with seating areas designed for solitude and contemplation as well as gathering places for interaction of larger groups. The garden gives patients a chance to see something positive and to remind them that there is life around them. It equally enhances the daily experience of its staff and administration giving them a protected place to enjoy lunch and breaks as weather permits.
The garden is organized around a key pedestrian axis linking the new interior multi-faith chapel to the bell tower on the roof. Pathways intersect this major axis and lead the visitor to the various seating areas and special features of the garden including two water features and colourful glass screens. A stand of trembling aspens serves as a crucial visual and auditory buffer against an adjacent cooling plant.
The design also pays homage to Ted and Lois Hole, the beloved former Lieutenant Governor of Alberta. Both shared a love of gardening and built a very successful business, Hole’s Greenhouses. There is a subtle reference to the agricultural business that they founded in the design layout and linear planting rows akin to an agrarian garden. All plant materials were chosen and supplied from the family nursery - Hole's Greenhouse – for diversity, colour and textures highlights the natural flora of Alberta.
