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History

Plants, Computers and Community: Celebrating the Garden Forum’s 20th Anniversary

Plants, Computers and Community: Celebrating the Garden Forum’s 20th Anniversary

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Founder Daniel Mosquin (Garden Research Manager), discusses the importance of this digital resource for the plant-loving communities to commemorate its 20th anniversary.

By Garden Communications on July 22, 2021

Celebrating the apple

Celebrating the apple

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There was a day not so long ago that you weren’t able to find Pink Lady or Ambrosia apples in your average grocery store in Vancouver. If you couldn’t make your way to Granville Island, or trek to a grower in the Valley, you only had the pick of very few apples available in grocery stores. UBC Botanical Garden’s Apple Festival helped change that.

By Garden Communications on March 14, 2016

Founding of the Friends of the Garden

Founding of the Friends of the Garden

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Today, there are approximately 150 active members of the FOGs. They play a critical role in as ambassadors to the garden, fundraising and generating new membership for the Garden through their organizing efforts behind key Garden events such as the Apple Festival, the operation of the Shop in the Garden, and much more. Learn more about their history.

By Garden Communications on March 14, 2016

How the Garden began

How the Garden began

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In 1916, the closure of the Office of the Provincial Botanist led to the relocation of thousands of plants and shrubs. John Davidson, BC’s first provincial botanist and director of the Garden, Mary Jane Gruchy, I. Van der Bom, and James A. Wattie hauled thousands of plants and shrubs on a 40-kilometre trip from the original Essondale location of the botanical garden in a truck on rough roads to UBC’s Point Grey campus. At the time, the Point Grey campus only had three buildings, with classes taking place in the Fairview neighbourhood where Vancouver General Hospital now stands. From his office on Pender Street in Vancouver, Davidson began his work.

By Garden Communications on March 14, 2016

The living legacy of Peter Wharton

The living legacy of Peter Wharton

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Walk down almost any path in UBC Botanical Garden’s Asian Garden and you’re experiencing the living legacy of Peter Wharton. As you explore the signature garden named for David C. Lam , you may find yourself thinking about how natural it feels, as if the maples and rhododendrons have always grown there together. That was Wharton’s intention.

By Garden Communications on March 14, 2016

Searching for strawberries

Searching for strawberries

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In the mid 1980s and in partnership with Agriculture Canada (today called Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada), UBC Botanical Garden explored British Columbia helping to make comprehensive collections of Fragaria chiloensis (the beach strawberry) for breeding work. The resulting germplasm (genetic resources) was, and continues to be, used to develop new cultivars of strawberries with pathogen resistance for industry.

By Garden Communications on March 14, 2016

Al Rose collecting plants

Collecting native plants with Al Rose

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Al Rose was the first curator-horticulturalist of the Native Garden and a prolific collector of BC’s native plants. Between 1975 and 1979, Rose collected approximately 1000 specimens per year for the British Columbia Native Garden in order to establish the collections.

By Garden Communications on March 14, 2016

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UBC Botanical Garden
6804 SW Marine Drive
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z4
Tel 604 822 4208
Fax 604 822 2016
Website botanicalgarden.ubc.ca
Email garden.info@ubc.ca
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