Thursday, January 1, 2015

A trip back to the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research


The fall of 2010 we spent a week in beautiful British Columbia, Vancouver B.C. to be exact. It's a city of tall buildings, rugged mountains and many gardens. We'd previously spent a Thanksgiving weekend there and were amazed to see people wandering around outdoors in shirtsleeves, not bundled up in the November cold. Someone explained to us that Vancouver was Canada's California. Where you go to enjoy the warmth.

During that September visit I was thrilled to see the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, as I tend to do I took a lot of photos and had to split my post in two. Here's Part 1, and Part 2.

Reading back through old posts in preparation for this week's "repeat" series I was struck by how much I've learned over the last few years, at times blushing a bit at all that I didn't know then (so just imagine how much I don't know now!). I've also found it interesting that I was drawn to the same plants again and again. This was probably the first time I'd seen Celmisia spectabilis, and even though it wasn't looking great I still had to take a photo. I then fell for a couple of celmisia all over again when I visited Mark & Gaz in London and then later at the Kew Gardens. At least my tastes are relatively consistent!

This image still makes me smile. The hillside so colorful and that odd metal sculpture just seems so out of place...

This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

19 comments:

  1. Oh man, those dangling things (cones, or something else?)
    Looking back is always a mixed bag of "that was good" & "how dumb was I" for me.

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    1. Oh yes, there is the occasional "I wrote that? It's good!" feeling. Somehow they seem out numbered by the "oh god, I hope nobody reads this" feeling...

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  2. Glad to hear you like Celmisias with its silvery and downy looking foliage. There's one that has a more golden rather than silver foliage and I have a feeling you'll like that as well - Celmisia aurigans. Only thing is its proving elusive to us at the moment.

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    1. Speaking of elusive I've never seen one (any of them) for sale here.

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  3. Yay ! Beautiful British Colombia! As a resident of Vancouver and recent discoverer (?) of your blog so nice to see you give a shout out to North of the Border. Loree I have booked my package to come down to the North West Garden Show in Seattle ! Cant wait to see the displays and hopefully pick up some ideas and pots to take back to Vancouver. Shame I cant take plants as well....... sigh

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    1. Oh but you can! They have an inspection station set up right there at the show so you can get your plants cleared for travel across the border...do it! So glad you're going to the show, I am extra excited after missing it last year due to the snow.

      Back when I lived in Seattle friends and I would head up to Vancouver at the drop of a hat, it was so close. Somehow adding the extra 3 hours coming from Portland makes the trip much less fun.

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    2. oh wow! that's great news! (also a little worrying ... have to make sure I don't go overboard and spend a fortune) Thanks for the info.
      I feel the same way about Portland ...I have been once and loved it but it is just a tad too far for a quick trip......

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    3. I started to get nervous that they weren't going to have the station at this years show so I posted the question on their FB page and already got an answer!...

      "Yes, the USDA is always there for that reason. They'll be in the plant market. Ask the vendor before you buy though, not all plants are eligible - as far as my understanding goes. I used to vend there"

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    4. hahaha you are sweet for checking. Im really looking forward to the weekend . Have a table booked at Dahlia Lounge already

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  4. It has been quite a while since we were there now, but we loved the gardens at UBC too, especially the Japanese Garden.

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    1. I have to admit that's the one part we skipped.

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  5. I like Celmisia, too. Saw them first on a British rock garden blog. The gold one Mike and Gaz mentioned is gorgeous. Someone needs to get them into the US. Thanks for the tour! I read both posts. I've been to Victoria 3 times but never Vancouver. Someday...

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  6. I love your repeat week. You have been such a good garden writer for years!

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  7. We were in Vancouver in 2006. We went to the UBC campus, but to see the museum on indigenous people. I didn't even know about the Botanical Garden. Dang! Great photos, though.

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    1. We spent time there too (the museum). The first hour was fun, the second and third (that place is HUGE) not so much. Then again Andrew would say that about some of the gardens we've visited so all's fair.

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  8. A repeat week from you and The Carol Burnett Show being rerun starting today - what a glorious week!

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    1. Probably the first time Carol Burnett and I have been mentioned in the same sentence.

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