Sechelt botanical gardens

The Cottagers wife happened to be up on the Sunshine Coast on the long week end as well and suggested that we meet at the Sechelt Botanical Gardens for a guided tour.  Neither Nancy or I had heard of such a place But thought a guided tour would be great way to spend an afternoon.

When we arrived there was one other person waiting for the tour and so the 5 of us set out around the gardens.  The gardens are only a couple of years old, and still very much a work in progress, but interesting to walk around.  The land used to be a tree nursery and there were several trees left on the property some of them in rows as they were during the time of the nursery.  The trees have now grown up and in a couple of places created rather lovely avenues that they hope to utilize in the future.

 They have visions of wedding parties walking down the avenue to the Pavilion which is rented out for events and certainly would be a wonderful place for a wedding overlooking the gardens.

Inside the Pavilion

As we carried on around the gardens many interesting trees were pointed out, and our guide was full of interesting facts and a wonderful resource for information.

A very unusually formed linden tree

The garden is run by the Botanical Society and the work appears to be being done by volunteers, having now cleared the walkways and removed untold amounts of blackberries their next project they are embarking on is establishing a native plant garden.  As this was salmon berry season we snacked along the way on the abundant berries.

Of course my favourite part of the gardens was the vegetable garden, which was large and full of very healthy looking vegetables including some lovely looking artichokes.

There were many different kinds of potatoes, beans and so much more.  

Garlic scapes

We all enjoyed our tour of the gardens, and the tour guide was informative and enthusiastic, just what you want in a guide. I will look forward to visiting them over the years and watching them grow.