Winter

Tuesday, December 21 2021 - Saturday, March 19

The winter Garden features muted colour palettes, stunning silhouettes and a scattering of colour with winter berries and blooms.

 

Learn More

Spring

Sunday, March 20 - Tuesday, June 21

In spring the Garden is bursting with cheerful rhododendrons, stunning magnolias, delicate cherry blossoms and bloom-full camellias –  to mention a few…

Learn More

Summer

Wednesday, June 22 - Thursday, September 22

Summer in the Garden features vibrant colours and fragrant smells for our visitors to enjoy.

Learn More

How to Start Seedlings Indoors (Online)

Tuesday, January 18 6.00pm - 7.30pm

Another planting calendar is starting, bringing back the joy of getting your hands dirty! If you are a beginner gardener wanting to create your food garden from seeds, it’s better to start early, and this is the perfect class to receive instructions on how to do it.

Join Jennifer Lipka, an MSc Student at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems of UBC, who has plenty of practical experience and will discuss what seeds you need to start indoors and when, how to start seeds indoors and what you’ll need, considering many budgets. Additionally, the class will cover the soil to use, containers and grow lights to buy. The session will finish with a demonstration.

2022 Speaker Series: Gardening in the Elizabethan Era

Monday, January 24 6.30pm - 7.30pm

In this presentation, Spencer W. Stuart will discuss one of the first books published in English on gardening, Thomas Hill’s ‘A Most Briefe and Pleasaunte Treatise, Teaching How to Dresse, Sowe, and Set a Garden’ (1563).

A product of Elizabethan Period, Hill’s book offered a compendium of tools as well as techniques from beekeeping to making flower beds. Evidence of its popularity can be seen in the many reprints throughout the 16th Century under the title of ‘The Profitable Arte of Gardening’.

Essentials of Landscape Design (Online)

Tuesday, February 1 - Tuesday, February 22

Whether you’re designing a small green entrance to your home or an expansive backyard oasis, this online class will equip you with the essential principles of landscape design. Join Janis Matson, horticulturist and owner of Shoreline Landscape Design, for this 4-part workshop series.

Learn foundational design concepts, such as soil, slope, sun exposure, and irrigation. Expand your learning with the principles and elements of design like focal points, scale, colour, balance, and more. Bring photos or drawings of your garden and work on your own property’s design with feedback and insight from the instructor. Leave inspired and ready to design your garden.

Deciduous Tree Identification (Online)

Wednesday, February 9 6.00pm - 8.00pm

Botanist Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed joins the VBGA to teach you about deciduous tree identification. Participants will learn about native and commonly cultivated species found in VanDusen Botanical Garden and around the Lower Mainland. Learn key characteristics of the most common deciduous tree families and recognize them in urban and wild environments.

Illustrating Birds Series (Online)

Tuesday, February 15 - Tuesday, February 22

This illustration course taught by Katharine Dickinson will bring the fun of drawing to the world of birds.

Strengthen your observation skills for studying birds, while developing your illustration skills. In the first class of this 2-part series, capture the plain form and essential bird features with simple sketches. In the second class, explore adding touches of watercolour to your drawing. After this course, you’ll have the confidence to bring your sketchpad out to the park, or to VanDusen Garden, or Bloedel Conservatory (admission sold separately), and connect to birdwatching through art.

Growing Vegetables in Container Gardens (Online)

Saturday, February 26 1.00pm - 3.00pm

Interested in growing your own food but don’t have access to an in-ground garden? Welcome to the world of possibilities for edible container gardening!

This class is perfect for urban gardeners who want to get started with growing veggies and food crops on their balconies, patios, and container gardens, with tips on how to get started. Learn which vegetable varieties are best for patios or balconies, what the best soils and companion plants are, and which container pots to choose. After receiving Jennifer’s assistance and demonstration, you will feel confident to design the layout of a container garden to plant at home.