Vancouver Island Gardens

From mossy woodland trails to the fragrant delights of creeping thyme snuggling against paving stones, there are many and varied paths to wander in the gardens of Vancouver Island Garden Association (VIGA) members: each reflects its own charm in the way it guides visitors through the garden.

The formal walkways of Butchart Gardens cater to a million-plus visitors a year, while the intimate paths of the Abkhazi Garden reveal the private world of the Georgian prince and his Shanghai-born princess.

At the Tofino Botanical Gardens, boardwalks move visitors through five hectares of garden, forest and shoreline, while granite rocks line the soft, cedar-bark paths of the Kitty Coleman Woodland Gardens in Courtenay, guiding visitors through the woodland wonderland that is home to more than 3,000 rhododendrons.

VIGA members are a diverse group of garden-related facilities including public gardens, educational facilities and special nurseries. Established two years ago, the
Association is committed to providing the garden tourist with exciting horticultural
experiences all over the Island, from Port Hardy in the north, to Victoria in the south and Tofino on the west coast.

Check with each facility for opening times and admission rates. Several of these gardens are not open year-round, and some only on weekends. Allow plenty of time to visit and enjoy the beauty of the Island at a leisurely pace.

Port Hardy
Ronning's Garden

Ronning's Garden still reflects the spirit of its founder Bernt Ronning, who planted seeds and cuttings from around the world on his two-hectare site at the head of Holberg Inlet.

After his death in 1963, the rainforest encroached on the plantings until Ron and Julia Moe bought the land in the 1980s and restored the garden. Twin monkey-puzzle trees, planted in the early 1900s, are one of the striking features of the garden. They were one of the first pairs to produce viable seeds in B.C. and the Moes propagate the seeds and supply a limited number of plants to nurseries. The garden is 65 km west of Port Hardy on the gravel road to Cape Scott Provincial Park.
250-288-3724

Port McNeill
Shephard's Garden

Bill and Marilyn Shephard's one-and-a-half-hectare family garden of flowers, gardens and forest is located near Port McNeill. Here, bulbs and flowering shrubs combine for an early display of colour. Each season, as the Shephards find new plants that will overwinter in the northern Island climate, they are added to the perennial collections, and there are always plenty of blooms to enter in the North Island Fall Fair in September.
250-956-4709

Campbell River
Mystic Woods Nursery

Mystic Woods Nursery is a work in progress with its constantly growing and expanding display gardens.

Starting this spring, the seven-year-old nursery will concentrate on rare and unusual perennials, grasses, herbs, trees and shrubs.

A demonstration herb and medicinal plant garden is also being developed, while children enjoy the play area, visiting the horses and feeding the fish in the display ponds.

Some unusual plants to look out for include: White snakebark maple (Acer tegmentosum), Himalayan honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa) and silk-tassel bush (Garrya elliptica).
250-286-1340