Services
We offer a variety of services to help you make the most of your visit to VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory. Our goal is to make VanDusen and Bloedel safe, welcoming, and accessible to all. Visit our Accessibility page to learn more about services for visitors.
At VanDusen Botanical Garden:
Shaughnessy Restaurant
The Shaughnessy Restaurant is fine dining in the heart of Vancouver. Located in Garden Pavilion, Shaughnessy provides a retreat like no other. Casual elegance, soothing ambiance, and picturesque garden vistas create the perfect background to your dining experience. The seasonal, innovative, and contemporary West Coast menu focuses on fresh ingredients. Open for lunch, afternoon tea and dinner, and brunch on weekends. Patio open seasonally.
The Garden Cafe at VanDusen
Nestled inside VanDusen’s stunning Visitor Centre, The Garden Café offers a beautiful view of the surrounding domestic and exotic flora. Aligning perfectly with VanDusen Botanical Garden’s living building philosophy, The Garden Café offers Fair Trade coffees, handcrafted hot and cold beverages, handmade sandwiches, soups, curries, and locally-inspired epicurean entrees that change daily. Please call 604-267-4966 for daily menu offerings.
The Afternoon Tea package is available daily on first come first served basis. The popular picnic baskets are also available in the summer and is subject to availability. Due to volume, The Garden Café is unable to reserve afternoon tea packages or picnic baskets.
The inside space accommodates 58 people and the heated patio 40.
Visit the Garden Cafe and Truffles Fine Foods Catering here.
At Bloedel Conservatory:
Bottled refreshments and ice cream, are available for purchase on site.
Seasons in the Park
Dine at the highest point of Vancouver. Seasons in the Park offers fine dining in the heart of Queen Elizabeth overlooking the stunning Vancouver skyline. Seasons in the Park offers weekend brunch and seasonal patio. Visit the winebar to try a large selection of wines from around the world and British Columbia or to sample our chef’s pairings.
Self-Guided Tours
Self-guided tours of the Garden are available throughout the year so you can explore and enjoy the magic of every season.
Learn more about the incredible biodiversity of plants and animals that call VanDusen home with the following self-guided tours:
1. Bloomberg Connects App
Explore the Garden using our new digital guide on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app. Learn more about VanDusen Botanical Garden and let the digital map guide your visit as you explore our collections. Discover some of our favourite stops in the self-guided Garden Highlights tour, or slow down and reflect on the land that you walk upon through our First Peoples and Plants self-guided tour.
Download the Bloomberg Connects App on Google Play or the Apple Store, or visit the mobile digital guide here.
2. Welcome to the Garden
Enjoy a 30-minute introductory tour of garden highlights created by our Volunteer Garden Guides. Learn about our history and facilities and explore our biodiversity and botanical collections.
View the digital version here or pick up a printed brochure in the Visitor Centre.
3. Seasonal Self-Guided Tours
Enjoy a seasonal tour of garden highlights created by our Volunteer Garden Guides.
View the self-guided tours page here or pick up a printed brochure in the Visitor Centre.
Guided Garden Tours
Guided Walking Tours: April 1 – October 31
Volunteer Garden Guides offer walking tours during the peak seasons at the Garden.
Look for the Volunteer Guides and their Garden Cart (with bright green shirts and umbrella) on the outdoor Plaza when you first enter the Garden from the Visitor Centre.
Daily, 1 pm – 4 pm
Guided Cart Tours: April 1 – Thanksgiving Monday
Volunteer Garden Guides offer motorized cart tours for those with mobility challenges during the peak seasons at the Garden.
Look for the Volunteer Cart Drivers on the outdoor Plaza when you first enter the Garden from the Visitor Centre.
Daily, 1 pm – 4 pm
Important information on Guided Tour availability and advance booking:
- We cannot guarantee that guided walking and cart tours will be available due to the availability of volunteers on any given day
- Guided walking and cart tours are available on a first-come-first-served basis only and advance booking for tours is not available.
Assisting Guests with Mobility Impairments
Safety is our highest priority for our guests, volunteers, and staff. Volunteers may not assist guests with mobility impairments, due to the risk of injury to both the guest and volunteer with walking aides, transfers or mobility assistance of any kind including getting in or out of our guided tour golf cart, wheelchair, or lending an arm to assist someone in standing. Guests requiring such support should be accompanied by someone able to assist them. Due to safety reasons, we are unable to accept bookings from long-term care facilities for guided tours.
Bloedel Conservatory
While guided tours are not available at Bloedel Conservatory, Docents and Discovery Station volunteers are often available to provide information about the birds and plants there.
Garden Shop at VanDusen Botanical Garden
VanDusen’s Garden Shop always has something new sprouting up in fashion, home, garden and lifestyle accessories. From artisanal soaps made locally, to kitchenware and VanDusen Garden honey, the VanDusen Gift Shop has a variety of products for all visitors. Seeds, gardening tools and gardening books are also available. Located in the Visitor Centre, the Garden Shop is open during Garden hours.
The Plant Shop patio features seasonal plants for your own garden! Kindly note that plants are usually available from early April to early September. Please call the Gift Shop in advance if you are specifically looking for plants to check on availability. The Gift Shop can be reached at 604-257-8665.
VanDusen Seed Collectors Store
The VanDusen Volunteer Seed Collectors have been collecting, cleaning, packaging and selling our seeds at VanDusen Botanical Garden since 1982. Since 2002, we have been offering seeds online for growing perennials, annuals, biennials, shrubs, Coastal BC native plants, trees, ferns, vines, rhododendrons and more. Click here to find out what seeds are available online.
Gift Shop at Bloedel Conservatory
The Conservatory Gift Shop at Bloedel has items for sale, ranging from jewelry to souvenirs of the city.
Support the Garden, purchase seeds
Located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, The VanDusen Volunteer Seed Collectors have been collecting, cleaning, packaging and selling seeds at VanDusen Botanical Garden since 1982. Seeds have been available for purchase online since 2002 for growing perennials, annuals, biennials, shrubs, Coastal BC native plants, trees, ferns, vines, rhododendrons and more.
As new harvests ripen from over 650 plant species, the best seeds are collected, cleaned, prepared and stored to ensure the highest viability possible. In keeping with the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Vision and Mission Statement, the seeds collected contribute to conserving plant biodiversity and environmental sustainability. Plants at the Garden are cared for using an Integrated Pest Management system to minimize pesticide use.
Seeds collected from VanDusen Botanical Gardens are available online and at our annual Seedy Saturday event in February. Proceeds from seed sales support education and other projects in the Garden.
Visitors can enjoy the Garden and Conservatory year round regardless of their mobility – check out our full page of accessibility details for both VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory here.
Before you set out, review these tips on how to best enjoy VanDusen Botanical Garden:
- Take in the fresh air – and please, no smoking (it’s the law).
- Working guide and service dogs are welcome. Leave pets at home. BC Government Guide & Service Dog Fact Sheet
- Stretch your legs – the Garden is a fabulous place in which to walk. Rollerblades, skate boards, bicycles and tricycles are not permitted (baby strollers are fine).
- Wander and explore the pathways – but please do not walk in the plant beds.
- Help us protect the collection by not picking plants or flowers, or by removing any of the plant labels.
- Enjoy the wildlife – birds, turtles, geese, ducks, fish etc. To ensure they stay wild, please do not feed them.
Enjoying Bloedel Conservatory:
Please review these tips on how to best enjoy the Conservatory:
- Take in the tropical air – its like a mini vacation without the airfare!
- Certified guide dogs are welcome – but please do not bring any other animals (e.g. dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, fish, etc.).
- Talking to the parrots is encouraged – many will talk back!
- Please do not touch, attempt to handle or feed the exotic birds. Do not clap loudly or throw things at the birds to get their attention.
- Stretch your legs – but please no running! Birds often walk along the pathways (and some are babies).
- Explore – but please do not walk in the plant beds.
- Help us protect the collection by not picking plants or flowers, or by removing any of the plant labels.
- Extendible selfie-sticks are not allowed at the Conservatory.
