Botanical Gardens

At the University Site Point Grey we have the nucleus of what is believed will become one of the most interesting gardens in Canada, and on the Pacific slope. It is but six years since this botanical collection was started, and over 1000 different kinds of native plants in addition to several hundreds of introduced species have been assembled there. The five acres allotted for the garden, though intended as part of the educational equipment of the University for teaching and scientific research, have attracted hundreds of visitors who have expressed surprise at seeing such an assemblage of curious and interesting specimens demonstrating the wealth and variety of our native flora. We expect that, in a few years, the beds which are being prepared to receive 2500 different species, will be well filled, and that other beds will demonstrate what can be done by utilising selected wild flowers for garden decoration. This garden has been established on scientific lines, to serve a definite educational purpose, but it will prove valuable to those of the present and future generations interested in side lines of applied or economic botany.

The plants are to be arranged, as far as possible, according to their families, so that persons wishing to know how many different kinds of ferns, grasses, orchids, etc. are found wild in British Columbia, will only have to walk round the particular beds allocated to those plants and find the specimens classified and labelled.

Part of the garden is set aside as a native arboretum, to show our B.C. trees and shrubs. You will of course understand that in a few years, when the trees have attained 20 feet or more in height, this collection will be of much greater value than it is today when the trees are young; in the case of some species of alpine trees we had to raise them from seed; but we have pleasure in knowing that some day the arboretum will be a favorite rendezvous for students and others interested in forestry, and in particular our B.C. trees.