VanDusen Botanical Garden

The VanDusen Botanical Garden, named after local lumberman and philanthropist Whitford Julian VanDusen, spreads over 55 acres in the Vancouver neighborhood of Shaughnessy.

The garden occupies a portion of the former Shaughnessy golf links at the northwest corner of 37th Avenue and Oak Street. It became a public garden after the British Columbia provincial government, the city of Vancouver, and the Vancouver Foundation signed an agreement to provide funds for its development in 1970.

Opened to the public in August 1975, the Botanical Garden is under the joint management of the Vancouver Botanical Gardens Association and the Vancouver Park Board.

The garden is open to the public daily throughout the year, except Christmas Day. Admission fees are charged to day visitors, and family and individual garden memberships are also available for regular visits.

The garden grows and displays various plants from around the world, as well as maintains an extensive collection of plants native to British Columbia.

This botanical sanctuary boasts a Garden’s Visitor Centre, which opened in November 2011.

Designed and built compliant to a LEED Platinum standard, this modern centre offers a specialized botanical library, a gift/garden shop, a restaurant and a coffee shop. It is on the registry of the International Living Future Institute and is pursuing certification under the Living Building Challenge advocating regenerative structures.

The garden’s designer, master gardener R. Roy Forster, was notably awarded with the Order of Canada for his brilliant rendition of the VanDusen Botanical Garden.

A self-guided tour of the botanical garden offers the inspiring experience of walking past totem poles and large wooden and stone sculptures.

The garden also flaunts an Elizabethan hedge maze, one of just six in North America, featuring 3,000 pyramidal cedars planted in the autumn of 1981. An observation terrace overlooks the maze from which the less adventurous visitor can watch the maze and the attempts of those game enough to negotiate out of its confusing twists and turns.

Other garden features for visitor appreciation include a Korean Pavilion, a cypress pond and a seasonal heritage vegetable garden.

In addition, the garden regularly hosts various events, such as the VanDusen Festival of lights traditionally held from November 25 to January 2.featuring not only light displays but also tasty treats, themed areas, and holiday music.

Mr Lawn Installation and Landscaping Vancouver

Continuing our journey to explore notable destinations in Vancouver of BC, let’s now venture into the dynamic and lively community of Vancouver Aquarium.