Enjoy the Lingering Glories of a Gorgeous Summer Garden In Stanley Park

August 25, 2008 - Tucked into a three hectare corner of Stanley Park just off Pipeline Road where one finds the park's historic Rose Garden, visitors can indulge their senses with the scent of chocolate cosmos and discover a delightful "river" of echeveria (a low succulent commonly known as "hens and chicks). A wide array of spectacular annual and perennial floral displays within the site will lift the spirit and add savour to these last warm days of summer.

In front of a backdrop of the park's looming West Coast forest, the Park Board's talented gardeners oversee a collection of floral displays set amidst beautifully manicured lawns and mature specimen trees. In total, over 30,000 plants have been artfully arranged into floral beds that can be viewed from paths that meander through the site. Using a palette of vibrant colours-this year dominated by every imaginable shade of magenta, pink, gold, yellow and green and incorporating both new and unusual plants, along with old standbys and elegant standards of lantana and fuchsia-the gardens are well worth a visit during these last lovely days of summer.

As you enjoy the pleasures of these well-maintained display gardens, you may wonder how all this comes about. As with every worthwhile endeavour-it all begins with good planning. In this case, planning begins a year in advance. Each summer and early fall, seed catalogues are pored over and dreams of experimenting with new plants and colour combinations start to take shape. The gardeners prepare their "wish list" of plants and consult with staff at the Park Board's Sunset Nursery each September. The Nursery staff, along with their many other duties, are charged with the task of ordering seeds and then growing them in greenhouses for planting out each summer.

Plants are chosen for colour, texture and height. As well, sun and soil requirements have to be taken into account. The gardeners also consider when a particular plant will be "at its peak." Plants are arranged together to provide an ongoing, continuous show of colour throughout the summer.

Each spring, the gardeners prepare the beds and plant out over 1,000 flats of seedlings, using colour, height and a plant's peak blossoming time as the criteria for their palette. The process, indeed, is not much different than that of an artist painting a picture, balancing colour and size into artful arrangements pleasing to the eye. The summer is spent cultivating, deadheading and ensuring the beds are "picture perfect" for the thousands of visitors who come from far flung parts of the world to visit this exceptional urban park.

The outstanding quality of the Park Board's display gardens is in large part the result of the exceptional gardeners whose passion for their work is evident. Many of the gardeners are graduates of the Park Board's own apprenticeship program that provides a high calibre training ground for those aspiring to the profession.

The Park Board's exceptional display gardens are also, in part, made possible because of the extensive resources provided through Sunset Nursery. Nursery staff are responsible for wintering over and tending the hundreds of standards (some of which are 30 to 40 years old) used in display beds around the city. They are engaged in propagating new plants, providing ongoing, ready access to plant materials, ordering and planting over 500,000 seedlings each year, as well as growing the seasonal potted plants that are displayed at Bloedel Conservatory and other public facilities.

As you walk the paths and survey the artistry of the gardeners, keep in mind the skill, planning and resources that go on "behind the scenes" to create our city's exceptional public gardens.