Self Guided Tour: February/March 2026
Adopt-a Tree-Tour (Click here for a map of the trees’ locations)
Edited by: Vivien Clark
At VanDusen Botanical Garden, we have a fundraising program called ‘Adopt-A-Tree’. Donors select a tree and choose the wording of a memorial or celebratory plaque that will be hung from the branches or staked near the trunk. All the trees you will visit on this tour have been pre-approved by the Curator and are available for adoption. Information about the adoption process can be obtained by contacting 604-257-8677 or fundraising@vandusen.org. Follow the black and white number and arrow signs to find these trees.
To start the tour, leave the Plaza by walking down the ramp to the right. Turn left at the bottom of the ramp and walk past the two wooden sculptures, cross the lawn and turn right at the arrow to enter the Woodland Garden. Look on your left for 1 – kobushi magnolia (Magnolia kobus) native to forests in Japan. It is one of the earliest magnolias to bloom each year. It becomes a medium-sized tree with smooth, bare branches that droop with age and produce wooly-haired leaf buds. White, open, fragrant flowers appear in March to April before leaves open. Profuse flowering doesn’t occur until the plant is mature at about 25 years. Leaves turn yellow in the fall and pods produce red seeds which are attractive to birds.
Now walk straight ahead until you reach the paved path. Turn right to find 2 – blue Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica Glauca Group). This is an example of a true cedar native to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco where it has been logged almost to extinction. It is an attractive, ornamental, potentially tall tree that is more tolerant of dry, hot locations than most conifers. In Hebrew, the word for cedar means ‘a strongly rooted tree’. Cedars are also noted for their valuable, durable, fragrant wood and this cultivar group differs in that its needles have a bluish hue.
When facing the pond, take the path to your right until you reach a crossroads. Turn left and then right at the lawn and look for 3 – eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) on your left. This evergreen has aromatic soft, flexible blue-green needles and is the only 5-needled pine native to eastern North America. It is the provincial tree of Ontario. Dominant in mixed forests, it provides shelter and food for many birds and small mammals. Considered valuable to the forest industry until the mid C19, it was over-logged and now only 1% of the old-growth forests remain. It was also used for ship masts, particularly by the British Royal Navy, after being introduced to England from Maine in 1605. This tree can live to be well over 250 years old.
Follow the curve of the bed left to 4 – white ash (Fraxinus americana ‘Autumn Purple’) located on lawn as part of the Autumn Stroll. This tree is not showy but has a quiet beauty and nice fall colour. It is largest of the ashes and is an important commercial hardwood. Ash wood is strong and flexible, making it ideal for constructing bows, fish traps, lacrosse sticks, snowshoe frames, baskets, baseball bats and hockey sticks.
Walk to the paved path, turn left and walk a short distance keeping your eye open for the next stop at the top of the slope on your right to find a 5 – hybrid maple (Acer × freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’) which is a cross between a red maple (Acer rubrum) and a silver maple (Acer saccharinum) and was hybridized by Oliver M. Freeman in 1933. It is often used in urban landscapes and is striking for its red and orange autumn colour. This hybrid is nearly sterile, which can result in sporadic blooming, but its dense red clusters of flowers appear April to May at the ends of one-year-old branches if it blooms.
Now return to the paved path and keep walking to a junction near the Service Yard on your right. Turn left and walk straight ahead until you see a 6 – giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) on your right. This is still a young tree that could live for over 3000 years. It is native to the western Sierra Nevada Mountains of California where it is now endangered. Its thick bark helps it to resist insects, disease and fire damage. After about 100 years, the tree will start to lose its lower branches. Its roots will become increasingly interconnected with those of its fellow sequoias as the grove matures.
When you reach the lawn to the left of the path, walk across it as if heading to the pond. Turn right at the arrow to find 7 – Persian ironwood (Parrotia persica), native to Iran’s Caspian region. It is closely related to witch hazels. As it matures, its bark becomes mottled and exfoliates in patches of green, tan and white. Its fall colour can range from butterscotch yellow or pastels to bolder tones. In late winter or early spring, it produces small petal-less flowers which are a mass of red stamens surrounded by brown furry bracts on bare branches. It was named for Georg F. Parrot, a German naturalist who botanized during the 1830s.
Keep left, walk past the bench, until you come to 8 – red horse chestnut (Aesculus × carnea ‘Briotii’) tucked further back in this garden bed. This is a hybrid between red buckeye (Aesculus pavia) and horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) discovered in Europe in 1812. It was named for Pierre Louis Briot in 1858, who was the chief horticulturist of Trianon-Versailles state gardens in Paris. This cultivar has 10-inch-tall panicles of deep rose flowers with yellow throats appearing in mid spring. Leathery fruit capsules containing 2-3 poisonous nuts form in autumn. This tree has a wide, rounded crown best suited for large gardens and parks where it has room to spread out.
Turn right at the end of the path and at the crossroads keep on the path leading to Heron Lake just ahead. There is a small path leading left at the water’s edge to a secluded bench. Behind it, look for an 9 – Antarctic beech (Nothofagus antarctica). ‘Notho’ means “false” and ‘fagus’ means “beech”. This native of Patagonia grows well here. It can grow quickly for its first 10 years after which it slows down. Young bark resembles cherry bark, while older bark is scaly. Its deciduous small leaves create an open shade and turn yellow in autumn. Inconspicuous yellow-green catkins are followed by fragrant capsules containing 3 small nuts. Take a moment to rest on the bench and enjoy the view.
Retrace your steps back to the crossroads, turn right and walk through the Southern Hemisphere Garden, turn right at the low rock wall and walk down the paved path to head over the Zig-Zag bridge. Keep left as you go up the incline until you reach some very large lava rocks and enter the Grotto on your right. As you exit the Grotto, keep to the left, cross the stone bridge and turn left. At the four-way crossroads go straight ahead into the Perennial Garden. On your right, above the rock wall and by a bench, you will find 10 – thornless honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos f. inermis). Unlike the species, this form of honey locust does not have thorns or produce seeds, making it a great choice for urban parks and streets, providing attractive foliage and shade.
Now return to the crossroads, turn left and walk up the slope all the way to the next crossroads at the top of the incline, just past the water-fountain. Cross over the path and look right for 11 – Griffith’s ash (Fraxinus griffithii). Native to Southeastern Asia, it belongs to the olive family. We are lucky to have this tree since it is uncommon in botanical gardens. Its attractive leaves are deciduous in cooler climates like ours. When it blooms from May to June, it produces panicles of lightly fragrant white flowers. Owls like to sit in this tree!
Now cross over to the bench and the path with the single stone step on your left, go up it and follow the dirt path to the right until you find the next two trees.
12 – hybrid witch hazel (Hamamelis × intermedia ‘Feuerzauber’ FIRE CHARM). This reliable, strong growing deciduous shrub or small tree is showy from mid to late winter, when its mildly fragrant red-orange flowers appear. On mild days their petals unfurl and on cold days they curl up again to protect them from frost. As it ages, the habit becomes vase-like. In the fall its leaves can turn orange and red. It is a cross between the Japanese witch hazel (H. japonica) and the Chinese witch hazel (H. mollis). The epithet intermedia refers to the mix of characteristics obtained from the two parent species.
13 – Dawson’s magnolia (Magnolia dawsoniana ‘Barbara Cook’) Native to China, this species is endangered and declining in the wild, the victim of deforestation. Plant explorer E.H. Wilson collected seeds from Sichuan province and introduced this magnolia to western horticulture in 1908. This ornamental tree displays white to reddish large, fragrant flowers in April and May before its attractive leaves appear, Fruits form in September and October.
At the end of the path, turn right and follow the path marked with an arrow up a steep, long incline. Near the top and on your left, you will find 14 – Aino mulberry (Morus australis), also called Korean or Chinese mulberry, native to east and south-east Asia. Unlike the white mulberry (Morus alba), Aino mulberry is not commonly used as food for silkworms; however, the bark fibres are used for making paper. Morus australis is monoecious, with both male and female parts on the same tree, is self-fertile and blooms May to June. It produces edible, aromatic fruit July to September. Because its fruit can only be stored for a few days, it is not considered to be a good commercial product. However, it is believed to have medicinal properties as a laxative and treatment for fevers, gingivitis and internal parasites.
Next, turn around and go back down the hill to the entrance into the Fern Dell (see the sign) on your right. Walk carefully down the crushed gravel path to 15 – Japanese angelica tree (Aralia elata) in the Fern Dell by the small pond. This tree is native to Northeastern China, Japan, Korea and Eastern Siberia, and usually tolerates many urban pollutants. Large umbels of showy white flowers appear from July to August and are attractive to bees. Its black spherical drupes are eaten by birds, and the leaves turn pale yellow to reddish purple in the fall, adding to the ornamental interest of this tree.
Now turn back to the bottom of the slope where you entered the Fern Dell, turn right at the arrow and walk all the way to a paved path. Turn left and walk towards the two over-sized red Muskoka chairs in the distance. At the crossroads turn right and then left at the fence. You are now on the Rhododendron Walk.
In the Japanese Collection on your left, you will soon see 16 – Oyama magnolia (Magnolia sieboldii) native to understory forested areas in Japan, Southeastern China and Korea. The name honours Pierre Magnol, a French botanist, and Philipp Franz von Siebold, a German physician and plant collector. This magnolia produces showy white flowers with crimson stamens from May to July and intermittently until late summer. Pretty pink oval fruits that contain orange to red seeds follow, and the leaves turn yellow in autumn.
Walk almost to the end of the Rhododendron Walk until you come to 17 – Yuzuri-ha (Daphniphyllum macropodum) on your left next to a tall irrigation sprinkler. This broad-leafed evergreen is native to China, Japan and Korea and has winter interest. Male and female flowers appear on separate plants May to June, but both need to be near one another to produce fruit. Male flowers are purple-pink while female flowers are pale green. The rhododendron-like foliage emerges flushed with pink. Particularly attractive are the showy purple-red petioles where the leaves meet the stem in spirals.
At the next big crossroad, turn left and head to the beech grove on the lawn on your left opposite the Lathhouse. Walk onto the grass towards 18 – cutleaf purple beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Rohanii’). This smooth, grey-barked, stately tree is perfect for this part of the Great Lawn and is particularly lovely when its deeply lobed and fringed purple leaves appear. Near it is 19 – European hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia) which belongs in the birch family. Its wood is very hard and has been used to manufacture wooden cogs and gears. Its deciduous, multi-veined leaves have lightly hairy or smooth undersides. Flowers appear as male and female catkins in spring. These are followed by fruit forming in pendulous clusters from the female catkins, each with 6- 20 nutlets resembling hops used to make beer. The yellow fall colour is another feature that makes this a multi-seasonally interesting tree.
Now retrace your steps back to the crossroads and turn left when you see the gate. Keep on this path as it curves to the left and walk to another crossroads. On your right there is a cluster of evergreens just beyond some beds planted for a spring display. Rising above the evergreens is a small 20 – whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis ‘Algonquin Pillar’). This pine often marks the tree line and is the highest elevation pine tree native to mountain ranges of Canada and the western US. In those environments it often grows close to the ground, but in less challenging environments it can grow to 95 feet. Like other white pines, its needles are in bundles of five. They are yellow green and smooth. It provides seeds and shelter for some birds and mammals. The Clark’s nutcracker, for example, is the major seed distributor of this pine. Other animals that benefit are Douglas squirrels, grizzly and black bears, northern flickers, mountain bluebirds, elk and blue grouse.
This brings us to the end of the tour. We hope that one of these trees may have inspired you to adopt them!
