Last week, we found ourselves in Vancouver, British Columbia for a work-related conference put on by American Public Gardens Association. In addition to learning heaps about plant collections and (among other things) the record keeping involved in maintaining such collections, we got a chance to visit two Vancouver botanical gardens. Both gardens were pretty big, so covering the entire area in the pace we generally like to go in the time that was allotted was simply not possible. Still, we were smitten by what we were able to see and would happily return given the chance. What follows are a few photos from each of the gardens.
UBC Botanical Garden
UBC Botanical Garden is located at the University of British Columbia. Established in 1916, it is Canada’s oldest university botanical garden. We saw a small fraction of the Asian Garden, which is expansive, and instead spent most of our time in other areas, including the Alpine Garden, the Carolinian Forest Garden, the Food Garden, and one of my favorite spots, the BC Rainforest Garden. The Rainforest Garden is a collection of plants native to British Columbia, which was the original focus of UBC Botanical Garden’s first director, John Davidson.
fall foliage of redvein enkianthus (Enkianthus campanulatus)
Franklin tree in bloom (Franklinia alatamaha) in the Carolinian Forest Garden
alpine troughs
bellflower smartweed (Aconogonon campanulatum)
cutleaf smooth sumac (Rhus glabra ‘Laciniata’) in the BC Rainforest Garden
the fruits of Gaultheria pumila in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden
Himalayan blueberry (Vaccinium moupinense) in the E.H. Lohbrunner Alpine Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden
VanDusen Botanical Garden is a 55 acre garden that opened in 1975 and is located on land that was once a golf course. It features an extensive collection of plants from around the world accompanied by a series of lakes and ponds as well as lots of other interesting features (like a Scottish Shelter, a Korean Pavilion, an Elizabethan Maze, and more). Our time there was far too brief. The whirlwind tour we joined, led by the education director, was a lot of fun, and if the threat of missing our bus wasn’t looming, we would have been happy to stay much longer.
Japanese anemone (Anemone x hybrida ‘Whirlwind’)
fall color on the shore of Heron Lake
knees of bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in R. Roy Forster Cypress Pond
witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’)
a grove of giant redwoods (Sequoiadendron giganteum)
We tried the fruit of dead man’s fingers (Decaisnea insignis). It tastes a bit like watermelon.
Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia)
awkward botany 
It’s so great to see temperate plants like this. I forget what the north offers.
Great photos! Thank you! I live just across the water (Olympic Peninsula, WA State), so it is fun to see what might also grow here. I am inspired to take a trip over to the island and visit these gardens. Vancouver Island is so very beautiful. I truly enjoy your blog. Thank you for all your efforts to share what you observe and learn.
Thank you! I am very happy to hear that you like the photos and the blog. Thanks for reading. 🙂 I definitely recommend visiting the Vancouver area…especially since you are so close!
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