A new botanical garden for the Sunshine Coast

• By
• Sharon Hanna

Image by Paddy Wales

Excitement is brewing as Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden Society members create their new botanical garden on the former site of Murray Nurseries tree farm. On Mason Road in Sechelt, replete with specimen trees, ponds and wildlife, the 40-acre site contains an outstanding grove of rare quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides var. vancouveriana). Douglas Justice of the UBC Botanical Garden is over the moon about them: “Their bark is a wonderful shade of chalky greenish white, set off beautifully by contrasting charcoal smudges of the branch scars.”

He also loves the bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum). “Rarely do we see magnificent mature specimens like these, growing in the cool ravine at the western edge—big, healthy individuals, dripping with mosses and other epiphytes.

Volunteers with sturdy gloves have been clearing blackberries, broom and brush, planning and designing various garden areas including a large vegetable garden. Fund-raising events have been taking place including a gala held January 31 to raise funds for the project.

In addition to being a place for inspiration and repose, the garden promises a wide range of uses from celebrations to community events, gardening and environmental programs for children and youth.

Odessa Bromley, Carol Pope (editor of GardenWise) and Sharon visiting the garden in Fall of 2008. To learn more, visit the Sunshine Coast Botanical Gardens online.