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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