Jokilaakso Garden Centre is a popular visitor attraction and recreational area in the centre of Lapua, next to Lapua Cathedral.
The garden centre was established at the beginning of the 2000s on a site where a women’s agricultural institute operated for more than a hundred years. The old institute buildings, built in stages in various styles, lend the garden centre its special character.
Thousands of plants have been planted in the area. These include traditional garden plants but there are also some novelties and rare plants.
Jokilaakso Garden Centre’s pride and joy is its area of edible plants, the Herb Plot. It is one of Finland’s largest show areas of edible plants. The garden centre also houses a large collection of conifers, a rose garden and an orchard of apple trees. In summer 2018, a new show area of ornamental grasses was built on the former site of berry-producing shrubs.
In addition to these, the garden centre contains a wide range of perennials, shrubs, trees and annuals.
At Jokilaakso Garden Centre, you can find new ideas for your garden, whether you have a modern city garden or a larger farmyard. Come May, the Lakeus kukkii gardening event gathers enthusiastic gardeners from all over the country to Jokilaakso.
In the summer months, some farm animals are brought to the garden centre to the great joy of the younger visitors. On the river bank, you can fish, feed the ducks, relax in a hammock or grill sausages.
The park covers an area of two hectares. All the plants in the area are marked with signs carrying their names. Entry to the park is free.
