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Attraction >Garden/Nature Spot
| Van Dusen Gardens |
Address:
5251 Oak Street Vancouver
| Vancouver |
Region:
Vancouver
Rating:
 
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More Info
Phone: (604) 878 - 9274
FAX:
Website
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Description and Basic Information ::
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 Within a stone’s throw of downtown Vancouver lies the former Shaughnessy Golf course (once used by the city’s elite), now transformed into a world-class botanical garden. The majestic evergreens throughout the site pre-date the garden, and the gardens have evolved around them. Paved pathways lead to wonderful plant groups including hollies (the largest collection in Canada), bamboos, magnolias, rhododendrons and azaleas which, in late spring, attracts visitors from all over. You’ll find various theme gardens within Van Dusen’s 55-acres, including large formal and informal perennial borders, a children’s garden, rose and lakeside gardens. Its newest addition, the Canadian Heritage Garden, features many plants that were once used to clothe, feed and house the first natives to inhabit this area. Van Dusen also has one of North America’s three Elizabethan Hedge Mazes - you may want to bring bread crumbs to find your way out - and its rolling lawns often play host to events such as the British Antique Car Show. The restaurant’s a destination eatery in and of itself. Volunteer guides give walking tours year-round. Electric carts are available for visitors who have difficulty walking although pathways around the garden are paved and most areas of the garden are easily accessible.
Van Dusen at a Glance
VanDusen Garden first opened to the pubic in 1975.
Size: 22 hectares (55 acres)
In 1997 170,000 people visited the Garden
Number of volunteers: 1,653
Number of staff: 20 full time
8 seasonal
10 - 12 part-time
VanDusen Botanical Garden is home to 7,500 different kinds of plants (taxa) assembled from six continents.
The VanDuzen maze is planted with 1,018 pyramidal cedars.
More than 60 varieties of birds can be seen at various times in VanDusen. These include:
Great Blue Heron Northwestern Crow
Black Swan Blackmapped Chickadee
Canada Goose Red-bre~ted Nuthatch
Mallard Brown Creeper
Amerlcan Wigeon American Robin
Greater Scaup Varied Thrush
Bufflehead Hermit Thrush
Sharp-shinned Hawk Hermit Thrush
Cooper's Hawk Golden-crowned Kinglet
Red-tailed Hawk Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Merlin Cedar Waxwing
Killdeer Starling
Glaucous-winged Gull Crested Mynah
California Gull Orange-crowned Warbler
Mew Gull Yellow-rumped Warbler
Bonaparte's Gull Wilson's Warbler
Band-tilled Pigeon House Sparrow
Rock Dove Red-winged Blackbird
Common Nighthawk Brewer's Blackbird
Rufous Hummingbird Brown-headed Cowbird
Hairy Woodpecker House Finch
Downy Woodpecker Pine Siskin
Western Flycatche
American Goldfinch
Western Wood Pewee Rufom-sided Towhee
Violet-green Swallow Savannah Sparrow
Tree Swallow Dark-eyed Junco
Rough-winged Swallow Chipping Sparrow
Barn Swallow White-crowned Sparrow
Stellar's Jay Golden-crowned Sparrow
Common Raven Song Sparrow
VanDusen's collection of holly (Ilex) is the largest in Canada and currently contains 150 different kinds. It is registered as a Test Garden of the Holly Society of America. |
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