Bloedel Floral Conservatory

April 28, 2008 - "April showers bring spring flowers" the old saying goes and this April seems to be a particularly wet one! But while we're waiting for the arrival of those warm sunny days, escape to a tropical paradise in beautiful QE Park.

The Bloedel Floral Conservatory is awaiting residents and tourists alike to enter its triodetic dome and be transported to tropical climes. Here visitors can count on perfect temperatures no matter what the outdoor weather holds, but better than that, a whole new world of free-flying birds will captivate all ages!

Talk to our chatty cockatoo "Charlie" or our pair of red macaws "Maria & Carmen" while over 60 species of other small birds fly overhead creating a jungle atmosphere. The scented air under the dome is ripe with sweet smells that both attracts the flying wildlife and weather-weary strollers anxious to inhale a flower's bloom just one more time.

The Bloedel Conservatory's gift shop is full of small gifts and wonderfully priced indoor plants, especially orchids, perfect for that last minute present or another treasured plant for your windowsill collection.

Just outside the Conservatory, discover the new Queen Elizabeth Park Plaza just recently opened. A fabulous dancing fountain featuring 70 jets, seven covered Tai Chi Arbours and the new 93 m² (1,000 ft²) Celebration Pavilion will make this the best park meeting place in Vancouver as the weather warms up. Not to be forgotten are the beautifully planted Quarry Gardens whose numerous flower beds are filled with thousands of tulips inter-planted with colourful spring annuals.

There's no better time to visit Vancouver 's horticultural jewel, Queen Elizabeth Park, than spring. Make a day of it!

Park access along Cambie Street and West 33rd Avenue has been restored with a few restrictions. Check here for more information.