VanDusen - That Botanical Jewel (A Zircon)
Wednesday, April 02, 2014
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| Rosa 'Charles de Mills' |
VanDusen Botanical Gardens here in Vancouver are not far
from where I live. I can walk there. Of late I have not. Perhaps it has to do
with the fact that my granddaughters are older and visiting a botanical garden
is not to their liking.
When we moved to our present home on Athlone Street in
1986 we had a ritual with VanDusen that was routine every year. In the fall we
would fill our trunk with bags of Vancouver Gold (not what you think but mulch
made by the city from fall leaf pickup). These bags were cheerfully filled by
volunteers who would then pack our trunk. In the spring it was manure, nicely
rotted manure. Again volunteers would fill our trunk and Rosemary would make me
go for a second run. The third tradition was the VanDusen Plant Sale at the end
of April (this year on the 27th).
As botanical gardens are defined they must
not only display plants and trees but be engaged in research and plant propagation.
They must have exchange programs with other gardens in the country and around
the world.
By that definition the only true botanical
garden is the appropriately named UBC
Botanical Garden and
Centre for Plant Research. This leaves VanDusen and the concrete garden, the Sun-Yat Sen Chinese
Garden as display
gardens. I am not sure of the exact status of the Nitobe Memorial
Garden at UBC.
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| VanDusen conifers |
Since I arrived in Vancouver in 1975 I have never seen a tad of
botanical cooperation (the pooling or resources, sharing advertising and
promotion, linking each other’s web pages). Each garden goes its own way. I
wonder how many in Vancouver are aware of the UBC Botanical
Garden’s excellent Shop in the Garden or the
massive metallic cat walks that link parts of the garden for eye-popping views
from above.
Part of the reason people are now in some
sort of ignorance is that the garden wave of the 80s and 90s has mostly died. Only
a few weeks ago I went to a local rose dealer and was shocked to find not one
(I repeat not one) old rose in their inventory. If you want Rosa ‘Reine de
Violette’ bite the dust you, will not find her.
If people are to garden they might do so
high in a balcony. Many of the owners of garden centres are unable to sell
their business as red ink flows.
VanDusen has always been a special Vancouver problem because
until recently it had an uneasy and hazy relationship with the Vancouver Park
Board. As an example, the many volunteer guides of the garden were not allowed
to pull weeds. There were union regulations!
Now the direction of the garden is clear.
The Park Boars is in Charge. This is the very Park Board, part of the city that
replaces our city trees (when old, when they fall, when they die) with nice new
trees that come with built in weeds. My wife and I have been pulling them (to
no avail) for years now.
Twenty Twelve, as far as I can ascertain
was the last year that VanDusen sold their fall compost and spring manure. This
year, last week, they sold manure in tiny little bags for a price that in some
cases exceed that of garden centres. Perhaps this is a Vancouver Park Board
policy to keep all those involved with clean hands.
The above may sound like a rant because it
is one.
Rosa 'Charles de Mills' at the VanDusen Plant Sale
Rosa 'Charles de Mills' at the VanDusen Plant Sale
