VanDusen Botanical Garden
Vancouver's Living Museum

A picture's worth a thousand words. Well then, these pictures of VanDusen Botanical Garden are worth a million.

There are galleries for the spring, summer and autumn garden. Almost like going on a walking tour! We'll cover a lot of ground - it's an enormous area.

The 55 acre site started out as Canadian Pacific Railway bushland. The site began its transformation in 1966 and made its debut as a botanical garden in 1975.

But well worth the wait. It's my favorite garden -- not just because Vancouver is my home.

Here's a Google map prepared just for you! Click on the blue labels to read about some areas of the garden. Enjoy, have some fun by clicking on the link under the map. It'll send you to a larger map that's even more fun!

VanDusen Botanical Gardens have a whole bunch of reasons to make this your favorite garden, too! Boredom doesn't live here!

The place is buzzing all times of the year with...

• Courses of all sorts and a Master Gardener Program.

• Flower shows and competitions - enjoy and photograph or compete.

• Craft shows spring and fall - do your Christmas and birthday shopping, or sell some garden photography.

• A glorious garden shop where my wish list is as long as my arm.

• Plant and seed sales - great for yourself or gifts for your gardener buddies.

• It's wheel chair accessible - get a special map from the cashier at the door to the garden.

• If you need information about your garden call their Plant Information Line. There's a Master Gardener waiting for your call.

• Let a volunteer take you on a tour of the garden so you can plan your photography day.

• The library's a super place if you've got an interest in horticulture. Need information on the plants in your garden pictures? Are you keen on designing your garden space? Everything you need is in the library.

• So many sub-gardens to experience - like traveling to gardens far and wide, without the expense!

More than 400 volunteers feel the same passion for this garden as I do. Each of us think of it, lovingly, as our own. I hope you will, too!

Take a look at my pictures of VanDusen Botanical Garden. And notice I sprinkled photography tips in the text.

	VanDusen Botanical Garden is a joy to walk by without even stopping in for a visit! The rhododendrons spill over to the sidewalk on 37th Avenue. I woke up every morning anticipating this heavenly “pick-me-up” on my way to work!
	Van Dusen Botanical Garden puts on a show like no other in the spring! The colors and scents are intoxicating! Take it all in slowly and enjoy every second. Spring is going to leave us all too soon. So quickly - get your camera out!
	More shades of pink and violet with rhododendrons and Spanish bluebells on the Rhododendron Walk. Indulge in a day off at VanDusen's and treat yourself to a stroll among the spring flowers! (Do you talk to the flowers? I do, too!)
	If you think that pink is the only color you'll see along the Rhododendron Walk - you're wrong! There's a kaleidoscope of brilliant color so capture all of it on camera! The soft colors of winter are gone. Now there's a color explosion!
	In late spring, the Laburnum Walk beckons - a thick lemon yellow archway dripping with blooms! At the trees' feet are the giant purple alliums, orange poppies and Spanish bluebells! A thick growth of ferns also enjoy the shade of the trees.
	This small feathery "Mountain Avens", grows circumboreal. I loved the tiny autumn plants glistening in the evening sun. Because of the brightness of the silver threads, the background looks black. This photo was taken on a late spring evening.
	VanDusen Botanical Garden is glorious in all seasons. This May foliage is striking in pallets of burgundy, red, gold and green - but it's not fall! The garden's color radiates in all seasons - and the reflections on the lake provide double the pleasure!

The late spring flower Dierama pendulum is an iris! Cross the wooden bridge between Heron and Livingstone Lakes. These “wand flowers” or “angel's fishing rods” are beside the path. They enjoy the rocky setting.	Here's a peak at the Children's Garden in colorful bloom with spring flowers - mauve double tulips floating in forget-me-nots. Red and white tulips add a little spice. This sub-garden is beside Shaughnesy's Restaurant.	A closer look at the huge allium blooms nesting under the laburnum trees. The orange poppies and lavendar bluebells add contrast to the allium's deep plum. The ferns do very well under the umbrella of the trees.

In a mellow yellow mood? Welcome to the Laburnum Walk - beside the formal rose garden. It's late spring and the laburnums are in full glory. Under their canopy - the purple splash of alliums and orange poppies.	Deja vu - Rosemary Verey's Barnsley House in Gloucestershire! This British lady influenced many garden designs in Europe and N. America. The “cottage” garden is popular in Vancouver and Victoria.	Walk through the archway of yellow blooms and turn around. From any direction - it's a sight to behold. On an overcast day, the deep yellow will lift your spirits. And on a sunny day, the color vibrates with energy.

Early summer is the time for roses, perennials and fragrance at VanDusen Botanical Garden. Don't rush through...

	Drop by the formal rose garden in early summer. This trellis is heavy with blooms. Photograph it and enjoy the sheer beauty of the scene. VanDusen Botanical Garden has incredible roses well worth photographing. And notice the central sundial.
	Summer flowers include the evergreen azaleas. Azaleas belong to the rhododendrons. Rhodies tend to be evergreen, azaleas deciduous, but there are exceptions! Walk toward the Sino-Himalayan garden beside the Korean Pavillion.
	This is “my” park bench where I've people-watched on many occasions. It's a great place to relax, bird-watch and see the seasons changing on the great lawn. Hostas grow all around. There's another bench close by, just for you!
	From my park bench - this late August afternoon is perfect for wandering through the garden. The garden colors reflect the coming fall - oranges, yellows, golds and deep purples. The hostas are looking a little tired now. And I'm feeling lazy, too!

The espalier-trained apples are alongside the Children's Garden. Close by you might find some summer exotic fruits like pomegranates or bananas in the small “food border”. Appetizing, but please don't eat them.	The perennial garden will keep your camera busy for hours. I really love this summer flower photo because of the amazing backlight that makes the poppies translucent. The light illuminates all the tiniest details.	The irises are giving up the ghost but as one group of flowers die out, there's a new group of blooms to take their place. Always something to photograph! Even late summer has lots of variety to keep you busy!

These iris ensatas are at Livingtone Lake just to the left of the “Fisher Hauling in the Net” sculpture. They're thriving in their lake-side home. Keeping their feet wet in the summer and soaking up the bright sunshine.	Lovely iris ensatas live in Meadow Ponds - far east side of the garden near the bee hives. They like wet feet except in winter. Huge violet purple blooms 6 to 8 inches across. They were beckong to me to take their picture.	The bronze herons used to decorate the fountain inside the entrance. It was replaced by the Phyllis Bentall Garden with an inground pool. Now they “nest” in the foliage beside the pool. Explore - follow the terraced steps!

VanDusen Botanical Garden is colorful any time of year. Trees and shrubs were chosen with much forethought. It's unfortunate that several hundred trees were lost in the December 2006 windstorm.	Grass is difficult to photograph. Have a fast lens or make sure that there's no wind blowing so you can capture all the fine detail. The backlight makes these grasses look almost translucent. I love backlight!	This grass has a sidelight on it. Look at the wonderful textures and colors in the different plants. VanDusen's horticultural experts have such flare for contrasting colors and shapes. Want some photo tips on light?

I love the frost on the ground in the early morning. I especially love to photograph the frost on the leaves or the delicate sheets of ice on the pond. And VanDusen Botanical Gardens is a treasure trove in the fall...

crispy leaves and colorful foliage.

The air's nippy -- chilly sweater nights!

Great! The heat and humidity of summer are gone. The light's amazing and I can happily get lost in a garden!

	A very cold and rainy late fall day. And a definite blue tone to the light of the short wet day. My fingers were getting numb as I shot many pictures of the decaying leaves. They had fallen on the large stone table in the Children's Garden.
	I walked beside Livingstone Lake on the same cold and rainy day. The colors were muted and the cloud cover and rain created an almost eerie glow. I was all alone in the huge garden, or it seemed so. VanDusen Garden was all mine on that day!

Taking pictures of gardens is one way of becoming aware of the natural world we're so blessed with. VanDusen Botanical Garden is where I'm drawn back to nature time and again.

Smell the roses! Close your eyes and feel the texture of the petals.

You can't stay away from the garden for long. If you let it, your camera will become your link to nature. And maybe you'll see me here on your next visit to VanDusen Botanical Garden.

Take a look at the VanDusen Botanical Garden website.

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