The Ted & Mary Greig
Rhododendron Garden

The Vancouver Park Board was the grateful recipient of an extensive collection of hybrid rhododendron and azalea plants in the late 1960s. This collection of plants came from the Royston nursery belonging to Ted & Mary Greig who were renowned rhododendron hybridizers. Upon hearing of the Greigs' impending retirement, the Park Board was able to secure this irreplaceable group of shrubs.

In all, about 4,500 plants are necklaced around the golf course beneath the towering magnolias and evergreens. Of special interest are the rhododendron auriculatum hybrids which combine the desirable characteristics of late bloom-time in July and August and scent, something not usually found in rhodos. Though undoubtedly at their peak during the first two weeks in May, walks in the Ted & Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden from March through summer, always reveal something new in bloom and a quiet beauty.

In the summer of 2006, the Park Board brought together the retired gardeners Alleyne Cook (who originally planted the garden) and Gerard Picher (who succeeded Alleyne Cook as gardener) and Rhododendron volunteer Karen Shuster who along with Landscape Architecture summer student Xenia Semeniuk mapped the Greig Garden, identified trees, plants and shrubs and took beautiful photographs in preparation for new walking tours. We at the Park Board are indebted to this knowledgeable and dedicated team for recording for posterity this rare horticultural gift.

Feature Stories:
May 2, 2005 "Garden In Flower Through Mid May"
Mar 26, 2007 "Walking in the Magnolias"

Walks in the Ted & Mary Greig Rhododendron Garden

These walking tours by the month highlight rhododendrons and other plants and trees of particular interest while including descriptions and photographs for ease of identification. Just download the walk of your choice  and visit the Ted & Mary Greig Garden located around the Pitch & Putt Course and near the Beach Avenue entrance to Stanley Park.

• March
• April
• Early May
• Late May
• June
• Brochure (including all walks and map)

Trees and Shrubs of Interest

• 50 Rhododendrons of interest 
• 50 Trees and Shrubs of interest 

You'll find a good guide book is helpful, such as Gerald Straley's Trees of Vancouver or the Natural History Society's The Natural History of Stanley Park with excellent articles by longtime Stanley Park gardener Alleyne Cook. With book in hand you are ready to begin your great tree adventures in Vancouver's first and most beloved park!

Photo Gallery

R. occidentale	R. 'Mayday'	R. 'Psyche'	R. 'Ackbar'
R. 'George Watling'	R. 'Medusa'	R. cinnabarinum X	R. 'Whitney' s Orange'
R. fatuosum 'Flore Pleno'	R. decorum	R. 'Crest'	R. 'Fabia'
R. 'Loderi Venus'	R. 'Mrs. Furnival'	R. williamsianum	Exbury Azalea
Magnolia 'Elizabeth'	Hydrangea	Kalmia latifolia	Davidia involucrata