SeasonalBloomsandWeepingTrees

JuneSelf-GuidedTour2015ByVanDusenVolunteerGuides

“IwonderwhatitwouldbeliketoliveinaworldwhereitwasalwaysJune.”–L.M.Montgomery

Pleasefollowtheblack&whitearrowsandnumbersigns.Partsofthetourarenotwheelchairaccessible.Thistourwilltakeapprox.40minutesorlonger,dependingonyourwalkingpaceandchoicesyoumake. Weepingtreesoccurinnature,butmostweepingtreesarecultivars,havingbeenselectedorbredfortheirpendulousbranchesthatcancascadetotheground.Tobeginthetour,leavetheVisitorCentreandturnlefttowardthesmallwoodenfootbridgeoverthestream.Totheleftofthebridgeisa1–weepingDouglas-fir(Pseudotsugamenziesii‘Pendula’).Notethetwistedformofitstrunkandbranches,insharpcontrasttothenaturaluprightformofournativeDouglas-fir,muchlovedbyBC’slumberindustryandwhichyouwillseelater.Thisbridge,aswellasothernewstructures,wasbuiltwithwesternredcedarrecycledfromawoodenwalkwayremovedfortheconstructionoftheVisitorCentre,completedin2012.Continueuptheslopeahead,pasttheBCjadedrinkingfountainonyourleft,andthentakethepavedpathtotheright,observingthevarietyofOrnamentalGrasses.Stopatthe2-weepinggiantsequoia(Sequoiadendrongiganteum‘Pendulum’)withitsinterpretivesign.Attheintersection,takethepathtotherightandwalkthroughtheBlackGardenwhereplantswithnearlyblackflowers,foliageorfruitarecontrastedbyvariousshadesoflimeandgoldfoliage.BeforeyoureachthelakesattheendoftheBlackGarden,turnandgobacktotheintersection.FollowthecurvedstonewalltotherightandclimbthestepsintotheFormalRoseGarden.Thislandscapestylewithapatternofformalbedsandpathsinanembroidery-likedesigniscalled‘parterresdebroderie’afterthelate17thcenturygardensatVersailles.Thesemodernvarietiesoffloribunda,grandifloraandhybridtearoseshavebeenchosenfortheirresistancetodiseaseandpests,(nopesticidesorherbicidesareusedintheRoseGarden)andcanwithstandthePacificNorthwest’scool,wetspringweather.ThebustsofDavidDouglasandCarlLinnaeusaretributestothesetwoplantexplorersandalsotoLinnaeusasthefatherofmodernbotanicalnomenclature.Passthroughthestonearchtothe3-HeritageRoses,generallyconsideredtoberosesintroducedbefore1900.Theyrepresentcenturiesofcultivation.TotherightofthepatharetheChinaroses,theoldestoftheHeritageRoses,somegrowninChinaforover1000yearsandusedtointroducerepeatfloweringinmostmodernroses.Onyourleft,largeovalbedsfeatureninemajorgroupsofheritagerosesincluding:rugosaroses,hardyperpetualbloomerswithrugose(corrugated)leaves;pimpinellifoliaroses,earlybloomerswithcreamy-whiteflowersincludingtheburnetrose,nativetoEuropeandnorthwestAfrica;albaroses,growninEuropesince100CE(CommonEra)andamongthemostancientofallcultivatedplants,shadetolerantwithwhiteorpinkflowers.Iftimeallows,youmightliketoexploremoreoftheHeritageRosebedsandthenreturntothispoint.Continueonthepathtothefourwayintersection.Turnlefttoentertheperennialgarden.Thispositiongivesyouasplendidviewofcurvinglinesofthreeintegratedweepingbeeches(Fagussylvatica‘Pendula’)attheotherendofthepath.Asyouwalkthroughtheperennialgarden,focusontheleftasyouwillreturnthisway.ThetraditionalperennialborderisbackedbyanIrishyewhedge(Taxusbaccata‘Fastigiata’)whichgentlycurvestomaximizethesunandprovideshelterfromthewind.Afteryouhavelookedattheflowersandplantsintheborder,continuealongthepath,throughthearchofweepingbeeches.Ontheleftisagroupingoffivesmallweepingtreeswithdistinctive,umbrella-likeshapes,includingthree4-Camperdownelms(Ulmusglabra‘Camperdownii’).Intheearly19thCenturyacontortedbranchofawychelmwasdiscoveredgrowingalongthegroundatCamperdownHouseinScotland.Acuttingwastakenofthisoddmutationanditcontinuestobepropagatedtoday,usuallygraftedontowychelmrootstockwithitsdeeplygroovedbark.Inthisgroupingisa5-weepingpussywillow(Salixcaprea‘WeepingSally’).ReturntotheperennialgardenwhereyouareabletowanderaroundtheislandbedswhichareseparatedfromtheGreatLawnbyalowstonewall.ThesamequarryinthenorthofVancouverIslandsuppliedthisstoneandthestonefortheParliamentBuildingsinVictoriaandtheHotelVancouver.Notethelovelybrightyellow-greencolourofthegoldenfalseacacia(Robiniapseudoacacia‘Frisia’)treesabove.Backatthefour-wayintersection,turnleftandwalkashortdistanceupthepath.Onyourleftyouwillseea6-pinkweepingspringcherry(Prunussubhirtellavar.pendula‘Beni-shidare’).Thisisthe

beginningoftheHonourableDavidC.LamCherryGrove,andyouwillfindmoreofthesetreesasyouwalkupthepath.Attheendofthebedontheleftistheperfectumbrellashapeof7-SnowFountainsweepingcherrytree(Prunussubhirtellavar.pendula‘Snofozam’).Thesewillhavelovelyorange,goldandredleavesinthefall.ContinuepasttheHaikustonetothecrestofthehill.Hereyoucanseeanumberofsculptures.Walkacrossthegrasstoyourlefttothemarblestatuewiththreefacescalled‘ObservingYourSociety’.CarvedbyrenownedCanadianInuitartistDavidRubenPiqtoukun,itisoneofelevenlargestonesculpturescreatedonsitebyagroupofinternationalsculptorsin1975,theyeartheGardenwasopened.Enterthesmall,bark-mulchedpathtotheright.Himalayanbluepoppies(Meconopsisbetonicifolia).bloomedhereinMayandyoumayseetracesoftheminfrontofthespectacular8-giantHimalayanlilies(Cardiocrinumgiganteum).‘Cardio’referstothisplant’sdistinctiveheart-shapedleaves.Whilenotdifficulttogrow,aseedcantakesevenyearstodevelopintoafloweringplant.ReturntothesculptureandbacktothepavedpathatthedrinkingfountainandlookfortheinformationsignaboutthehistoryofVanDusenBotanicalGarden,whichiscelebratingits40thanniversarythisyear.Continueupthepathtothefour-wayjunctionandturnrightwalkingdownthemainpath,thentakethenextleft.Atthenext4-wayintersection;onthefarrightcorneristhehighlyunusual9-weepingmaidenhairtree(Ginkgobiloba‘Pendula’),unusualbecauseinsteadofgrowingouthorizontally,thependulousbrancheshangdownwards.Herethereisaninterpretivesignwithmoreinformationaboutginkgotrees.FollowthestreamuptothewaterfallwhichwasdesignedandbuiltbyBillLivingstoneinthe1970s.AtthetopofthewaterfallisthedisusedMunicipalityofPointGreyReservoir(builtin1912),providingtheheightofthewaterfall.Alltheotherwaterfeatures-lakes,pondsandconnectingstreamsinthegarden-arealsohuman-made.Nexttothepool,thegracefulweepingkatsuratree(Cercidiphyllumjaponicum‘MoriokaWeeping’)growsvigorouslyandrequiresregularpruning.Itsshapemimicstheformofthewaterfall.

Continueupthemainpathtothefinalintersectionandturnleft,walkingdownwardstoreachthemainpavedpath.Ifyouhavethetimeandtheinclination,youmayturnrightontothepathandvisittheElizabethan-styleMaze,theVegetableGarden,theBeeHivesandthebeautifulAlmaVanDusenGardenwithitsdisplayofdelphiniums.Youwouldthenreturnthisway.Otherwise,turnleftandcontinuepastthestoneentrancetotheMeditationGardenonyourleft.Whenyoureachthetraditionally-paintedKoreanPavilion,turnandlookupwardstoseetheclimbing10–Kitftsgaterose(Rosafilipes‘Kiftsgate’).Thistoughramblerroseisvigorous,andthelargestoneinBritainmeasures50feethighby90feetacross.Thefragrantwhiteflowerswillbefollowedbymassesoftinyorange-redhips.BeginyourjourneydowntheRhododendronWalktoyourright.Ontheleftyouwillmeetanoldfriend,11-SnowFountainsweepingcherry(Prunussubhirtellavar.pendula‘Snofozam’).ThisisanewplantinginabedwhichhasrecentlybeentransformedintotheJapaneseCollection,featuringplantsofJapaneseorigin..Whenyoureachthe12-orangebarkstewartia(Stewartiamonadelpha),stoptoseeifitisstillbearingitssmallwhiteflowers.

Mid-waydownthepathistheGarden’smaincollectionofhydrangeas.WhenyoureachtheintersectionatthebottomoftheWalk,continuetofollowthecurvingpathwhichleadspasttheMinotaursculpture.Hereseasonaldisplaysonbothsidesofthepathfeaturecolourful,exoticplantsandannuals.Onyourrightisalarge13-Borneweepingbeech(Fagussylvatica‘Bornyensis’).“Sylvatica”indicatesawoodlandplant.ThisunusualbeechcultivarwasselectedinBorne,intheRhône-AlpesregionofFrance,andintroducedtotheFrenchnurserytradeinabout1870..Takethepathtotherightwhenyoureachthespreadinggoldencatalpatree(Catalpabignonioides‘Aurea’)whichwasplantedtocommemoratetheopeningofthegarden.AfterpassingtheGlasshouseonyourright(usedasaclassroom),turntotherightandyouwillseenearthesteps,the14-weepingblueAtlascedar(Cedrusatlantica‘GlaucaPendula’),oneofthetruecedarsandnativetotheAtlasMountainsinnorthernAfrica(Morocco,Algeria&Tunisia).Adramaticlandscapetree,itisprizedforitsgracefulflowingnatureandbeautifulsilveryblue-greenneedles.TotheleftistheWhiteGarden,surroundedbyhedgingtogivethesenseofagardenroom.Hereyouwillfindwhitebloomsincluding15–hybridmockorange(Philadelphus×purpureomaculatus‘BelleÉtoile’)inthefarrightcorner.TheLatinpurpureomaculatusmeans“purple-spotted”andyoushouldbeabletofindapurpleblotchinthecentreofeachofitslargefragrantblooms.ThewhitegardenwasadesignconceptintroducedbyVitaSackville-WestinhergardenatSissinghurst,England.

YoumayreturntotheVisitorCentrepastthePhyllisBentallGarden,withitsformalpoolandinterestingplants.FormoreinformationabouttheVisitorCentre’sroleintheGarden’scommitmenttosustainabilitypleasevisittheInformationDeskatthegardenentrance.Wehopeyouhaveenjoyedyourtour,andwillcomebacktovisitusagainsoon.

Eve Harrison� 2015-5-30 11:00 AMDeleted: