Wednesday, May 30, 2012

vancouver's van dusen gardens...

On a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon...
we decided to visit the big city. 
We had no agenda set in stone...
and visiting Van Dusen Gardens was not in the plans at all.
We were just beginning to think about dinner as we drove by the gardens...
and saw the sign for the garden restaurant.
What could be nicer than dinner on a warm patio...


...overlooking the gardens?
We came to the city...
and then found a quiet spot to eat.
We really are country folk at heart!


Once dinner was done...
we decided we really should stroll the gardens.
We were glad we did!

Van Dusen Gardens is situated on 55 acres that was once the Shaughnessy Golf course.
It first opened to the public as a garden in 1975.

Though there are more than 7,500 varieties of plants...
I'll just show you a few today.
I promise!


Oh...
and a few birds as well.


The purples and greens...


...were most lovely at the close of the day.

And we couldn't have picked a better time to stroll the rhodo garden.


We had to think about our visit to Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, Alabama at the beginning of March...
when their rhodos were in their glory.
We are just a wee bit behind up here in the far north!


I won't even pretend to know the names of all the plants and trees.
But I sure appreciated the signs throughout the garden identifying them.


The rose garden will look better in a few weeks...
I know.


The wisteria...


iris...


magnolia...


poppy...



...and lupine.


Succulents...
poking through every nook and cranny of the rock wall.


The Canada geese have made themselves comfortable in the gardens as well.
They seem to feel at home wherever they roam!


It was peaceful and quiet...
beside still waters.

There's nothing like being in a garden at the end of the day.

Earth laughs in flowers.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

20 comments:

  1. Judy, this is a gorgeous place to visit! Amazing. Thank you for the tour. Blessings, Pamela

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  2. Although I lived in Vancouver for two years I have never visited the Van Dusen gardens until this morning. Thanks for taking me there Judy! My favourite photo of all is of the path bordered by blue and purple flowers with the trees decked in yellow hanging above the path. I wonder what kind of trees those are?

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  3. We love that garden! We visited it after an Alaskan cruise about ten years ago, catching a bus to visit all the wonderful Vancouver area gardens. While Buchart garden is amazing, Van Dusen is right up there for "must see" gardens. We did the Queens Garden too...I think we walked between. I'd love to go see them both again!

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  4. I can't think of anything nicer than dinner in a quiet spot followed by a stroll through that lovely garden. You made a great spur of the moment decision and I'm so glad we got to tag along.

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  5. Van Dusen Gardens are indeed lovely! It looked so lush and full of a beautiful glorious array of spring flowers. It must certainly be a wonderful oasis fro those that live in the city.

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  6. They are beautiful...as I remember taking my mom there awhile back. I,m thinking..it would be nice to have designated bike trails through these parks to enjoy it from another point of view.

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  7. Exquisite beauty in lovely gardens is exactly what I needed today. Thank Judy for sharing all of these professionally looking pictures with us. Almost makes me feel like I was there too. Your part of the world offers so much natural treasures.

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  8. I'm just smiling at all the beautiful flowers in that garden. Such great colors!

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  9. The Van Dusen gardens are beautiful and you picked a nice day to enjoy them. Great photos.
    Cindy

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  10. What a very lovely diversion the the city this is. I'm glad you decided to stop and enjoy...

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  11. That is one incredibly beautiful garden. The flowers are amazing, though I'm sure that your photography skills are equally so. I just love the picture of the baby ducks swimming with their mama.

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  12. Thanks for taking us on this beautiful garden tour. We farm (beef cattle and sheep) in Virginia and I especially like your posts about your farm in BC and, of course, all things about MGCC. Thanks.

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  13. I don't think I've ever been there. It's beautiful! I like the lupines and the path lined with the flowering trees.

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  14. What a gorgeous place. Another garden to add to the list of places to visit. Are those Golden Rain trees? I read about them on another blog, but didn't know if they grew in our area.

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  15. totally agreed...garden in the evening...a little taste of Eden =)

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  16. You have some beautiful shots of this outstanding garden. It's on my list of places to visit. My favourite photo is the one of the Laburnum path. That is as good as any pro. pic. Angharad

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  17. Beautiful pics. Great material for the next note card party. The poppies were my favorite simply because they are such a vibrant red.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson