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Boootiful Botany Haunted Halloween
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , UBC Events
Updated Oct. 12, 2007: the poster (PDF, 1.06MB file) is now available for download and distribution.
Date: Saturday, October 27, 2007
Time: 12:00pm to 4:00 pm
Event Details: This exciting event will begin with a scavenger hunt where parents and children can work together using a garden map to find a number of spooky plant stops in the garden. At each plant stop they’ll learn some weird or unusual facts and stories about plants while receiving Halloween treats. Following the scavenger hunt, parents and children can enjoy Halloween crafts and games.
Don't forget to wear your costume!
This event is proudly sponsored by UBC Botanical Garden and the Henry Eddie Foundation.
Location: UBC Botanical Garden (6804 South West Marine Drive, Vancouver)
Organizers: The Education and Outreach Program at UBC Botanical Garden
Cost: Free
Please Note: This event will occur rain or shine. Dogs are not permitted in the Garden. If you’d like to facilitate the continuation of free community events at UBC Botanical Garden, donations are graciously accepted towards the Education and Outreach Program. Admission to the Garden is by donation on the day of this event. Please contact 604-690-5375 for more information. Pre-registration is not required and all aspects of the event are on a first come first serve basis. Free on-site parking is available. Paid parking is available at the new Thunderbird Parkade and at meters along East Mall, with additional free parking available on Lower Marine Drive. Please consult the garden's page on Directions to UBC Botanical Garden for directions, maps (for cycling and pedestrians) and transit information.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:02 PM on October 11, 2007
Examining the Origins of Flowering Plants
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , In the Media
Excerpted from this Botany Photo of the Day:
“...[A] team of [UBC BGCPR-led] researchers has a paper being published in the March 15, 2007 edition of Nature, entitled “Hydatellaceae identified as a new branch near the base of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree”. These dwarf aquatic plants found in Australia, New Zealand and India were once thought to be in the order of plants that included the grasses, sedges, bromeliads and rushes (the Poales). Through an incongruous result noted when studying the relationships between early flowering plants, the UBC researchers asked one of the most important questions in science (“Why?”) and decided to investigate further. What they discovered was that the Hydatellaceae are a previously unrecognized ancient lineage of flowering plants – so ancient that they predate the “big split” between the monocots and dicots (or ex-dicots, as is now recognized) in the evolution of flowering plants, and are instead more closely related to the Nymphaeaceae, or water lilies. As Sean states in the UBC press release, ‘For botanists, this is like finding something you thought was a lizard is actually a living dinosaur.’”
Follow news coverage of this story, see more photographs and learn more on UBC Botanical Garden's page dedicated to the Hydatellaceae. News items will be updated on this page as links are made available.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:02 PM on March 14, 2007
2006 December Holiday Hours (Revised)
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Revised: UBC Botanical Garden will remain open throughout December and January be closed on the afternoon of Dec 22 to Dec 26 inclusive. It will reopen on December 27-29 for regular winter hours. It will again close from Dec 30 to Jan 1 inclusive and reopen January 2. Apologies for any inconvenience the incorrect original posting may have caused.
Nitobe Memorial Garden will be closing on the afternoon of December 21 and reopening on the morning of January 2 with its regular winter hours.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:59 PM on December 19, 2006
Community Shuttle to UBC Botanical Garden
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , Front Page News
Courtesy of the UBC TREK Program Centre:
“TransLink's Community Shuttles are minibuses that fit well into communities, providing more service, connecting neighbourhoods and linking with the regional transit network. There are two community shuttle routes at UBC. C20 covers destinations on the west side of campus including UBC Botanical Garden, Nitobe Memorial Garden, and the Museum of Anthropology as well as the Chan Centre while the C22 serves the eastside of campus (e.g. Hampton Place and Acadia).”
“To get to UBC Botanical Garden via public transit, take a bus to UBC and then board the C20, which stops outside of the Student Recreation Centre on Student Union Boulevard next to the diesel bus loop. The C20 runs throughout the day until midnight with service commencing at 7:15 am during weekdays and at 9:15 am and 10:15 am on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Note that the bus only runs every 30 minutes so be sure to check the schedule first.”
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:41 PM on December 19, 2006
“The Jade Garden” Nominated
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , Kudos
UBC Botanical Garden's recent book, “The Jade Garden” was nominated for the 2006 Annual Award for a Significant Work in Botanical or Horticultural Literature by the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries.
Congratulations to the three main authors, Peter Wharton, Brent Hine and Douglas Justice and everyone else who contributed to the book.
Learn more about “The Jade Garden”, including links to excerpts from the book.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:18 AM on December 12, 2006
The Garden Shed
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Thanks to the initiative, persistence and hard work of the Friends of the Garden, UBC Botanical Garden can finally offer tea, coffee and other refreshments to visitors. Opened just in time for one of the hottest weekends in years, the newly-erected Garden Shed Cafe is conveniently located in a beautiful outdoor setting next to the Shop-in-the-Garden, just inside the entrance to the Garden itself.
Operating from a small but attractive new wooden building, the Garden Shed offers a range of drinks, snacks (from muffins to sandwiches) and ice cream. Tables and chairs under the nearby ginkgo tree provide an often-shady dining area. Willing staff and volunteers are available to serve all-comers between 10:00am and 5:00pm. Take a break after a visit to the Garden or stop in for tea or coffee and conversation!
The Garden Shed Cafe is the latest in a long line of important contributions to the UBC Botanical Garden by the Friends of the Garden, a volunteer group whose fund-raising and service work is invaluable.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:13 PM on August 3, 2006
Aerial Photographs of UBC Botanical Garden
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Earlier this summer, Alpine Garden curator Brent Hine had the opportunity to fly over the gardens in a small plane. As of the end of August, the lawn areas seen in the images are now shades of brown thanks to UBC Botanical Garden's water use policy.
Compared to what is currently available on Google Map's rendering of UBC Botanical Garden, the aerial photographs offer the opportunity to resolve individual trees, shrubs and mass plantings within the cultivated and naturalized landscapes that make up the garden. If you are interested, you can also compare the aerial photographs to the ground-level visitor's map of UBC Botanical Garden.
Another alternative way of viewing the garden from above is the City of Vancouver's VanMap (thanks Marilyn for the suggestion). It can be a bit slow to operate, but the 2004 orthograph of the garden is interesting because it was taken during the spring flowering of the magnolias.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:47 AM on August 31, 2005
Another review of The Jade Garden
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Bruce Dalbrack of The Asian Review of Books has written a review of UBC Botanical Garden's “The Jade Garden - New and Notable Plants from Asia”. He leads with “This is a nifty and highly recommended book for plant and garden enthusiasts wishing to expand their knowledge of Asian greenery.” and the praise (and a few criticisms!) continue from there.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:52 PM on August 18, 2005
Minotaur Unleashed!
Category(-ies): Art in the Garden , Botanical Garden News , Community Events , Local Interest , UBC Events
The “Minotaur with Hare” by UK artist Sophie Ryder is on display at UBC Botanical Garden for 18 months as part of the Vancouver Sculpture Biennale: Open Spaces 2005/2006. Weighing 800kg and measuring 2.7m (7') tall, the minotaur will overlook a soon-to-be-constructed traditional turf maze, representing the Greek myth of Theseus and the Minotaur.
Continue reading "Minotaur Unleashed!"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:38 PM on August 11, 2005
Mythical Monster Arriving in UBC Botanical Garden!
Category(-ies): Art in the Garden , Botanical Garden News , Local Interest
Who, or rather what, will make this nondescript concrete pad under a Quercus robur its home for the next two years?
Time will tell - we're expecting the creature to arrive soon! We've had to navigate through a labyrinth of tasks to secure the monster, so we hope you'll appreciate the temporary visitor!
Update (July 15, 2005 12:00 PM PST): The truck delivering the creature has had some mechanical problems that are going to delay delivery by perhaps a week or more.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 10:06 AM on July 14, 2005
The Latest Export From China - Garden Plants
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , In the Media , Interviews
“Western explorers to China's remote regions form a pantheon of horticultural Indiana Joneses.”
So writes Andrew Higgins in a July 14, 2005 Washington Post article entitled “The Latest Export From China - Garden Plants” (registration required). The subject of the article is a review of UBC Botanical Garden's recently-released book, “The Jade Garden”. Written by three of UBC Botanical Garden's experienced horticulturists, the book illustrates one hundred and fifty little-known, ornamental trees, shrubs, and perennials from Asia that ought to receive a more-prominent place in today's gardens.
The Jade Garden is available from the Shop in the Garden and other fine bookstores.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:12 AM on July 14, 2005
Endangered Sri Lankan Plants Live On in New Flower
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , In the Media
From an article in UBC Reports, written by Brian Lin:
“If you think naming your pet is stressful, try naming an entire species of flowers.
That's the task faced by UBC assistant professor Andrew Riseman at the Botanical Garden in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences**. But you won't hear him complain, because it took him a lot more work to create the flower he now has the privilege to name and is about to commercialize.
‘For the common name, I'm thinking of using something that has to do with the flower's vibrant colour, maybe a play on words from the blues genre,’ says Riseman. ‘However, I'd also like a name that honours Sri Lanka, where the five species of exacum used to create the new flower originated.’”
Continue reading the article: Endangered Sri Lankan Plants Live On in New Flower
** The Faculty of Agricultural Sciences reported in the article has changed its name to The Faculty of Land and Food Systems.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 10:46 AM on July 7, 2005
The Jade Garden - An Interview with the Authors
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , Interviews , Local Interest
This is the first of a new occasional feature on the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research web site – interviews with notable botanists, horticulturists and other people with an interest in plants. It seemed appropriate that the first interview be with UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research's very own Douglas Justice, Peter Wharton and Brent Hine, in celebration of the publication of “The Jade Garden – New and Notable Plants from Asia”.
Continue reading "The Jade Garden - An Interview with the Authors"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:00 AM on June 21, 2005
The Jade Garden - New and Notable Plants from Asia
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , Shop in the Garden
“The Jade Garden - New and Notable Plants from Asia” is a landmark publication by three of UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research's curators: Peter Wharton, Brent Hine and Douglas Justice.
Continue reading "The Jade Garden - New and Notable Plants from Asia"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:22 AM on June 20, 2005
A Request for Help
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , Local Interest
Thank you for your support on this matter. June 10, 2005 was the final day for submission of comments. The next step will be to see if the plan is revised based on your input.
Our Beliefs
At UBC Botanical Garden, we've many beliefs, including the following:
1) We believe in UBC's Trek 2010 Vision and Mission, and its five pillars of people, learning, research, community and internationalization.
2) In accordance with Trek 2010, we believe that one of our greatest responsibilities is to serve the local and global communities. We do this through the activities we perform and the services we provide. The botanical garden is used not only for amenity, but also for basic and applied research, for academic learning, for communicating the research and academic missions of the university to the general public, for lifelong learning, for community outreach and for engendering appreciation and stewardship of the natural world.
Continue reading "A Request for Help"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:55 AM on May 28, 2005
Planning a Trip to Scotland?
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are pleased to announce a reciprocal agreement to benefit their members.
UBC Garden Pass Members can now visit the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and its specialist gardens at Benmore, Dawyck and Logan free of charge on production of a valid UBC Botanical Garden Pass Membership Card (note: the garden in Edinburgh is free admittance to everyone, but the specialist gardens charge for entry). A similar benefit is available to members of RBGE when visiting UBC.
We highly recommend that UBC Garden Pass Members take advantage of this offer - the gardens maintained by the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh are top-notch and well worth the visit.
If you're not a Garden Pass Member, you can find more information about the benefits of becoming a Garden Pass Member or download a membership form!
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:43 PM on May 26, 2005
DIGA visits UBC
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
The Disabled Independent Gardeners Association (DIGA) has been reactivated in Vancouver (Vancouver Courier article on DIGA and its history). DIGA members enjoy a number of events, including a recent workshop and tour at UBC Botanical Garden hosted by David Tarrant and Judy Newton (DIGA Workshop Photographs - April 19, 2005 in PDF format). For more information on the Disabled Independent Gardeners Association and affiliated organizations, visit the web site of the Disability Foundation.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:12 PM on April 25, 2005
A Walk in the Woods
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Thanks to an agreement between the University Neighbourhoods Association and the Botanical Garden, funding was made available to open a new trail at the far end of the Asian Garden for everyone to enjoy: “A Walk in the Woods”.
Continue reading "A Walk in the Woods"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:00 PM on April 14, 2005
Big Birds
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Along with the nesting pair of bald eagles in the garden, a few other large birds have dropped in or taken up residence:
- To prepare the waterfall that feeds the entrance pond for the summer, the water has been drained to service the pumps. A great blue heron has taken this opportunity to clean out any surviving fish in the shallow pools of water that remain.
- A barred owl has been spotted on consecutive days at the far end of the Asian Garden
- The “pock-pock-pock” of North America's largest woodpecker, the pileated woodpecker, tapping into decaying standing trees is a frequent sound heard in the Asian Garden.
On a related note, if there are any birdwatchers with lists of birds seen at the garden referenced by date, I'd be happy to add the list to the web site as a service to other birdwatchers and visitors. Just click on my name below to send me an email.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:24 PM on March 23, 2005
Magnolias in bloom
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
In a typical year, the flowering of magnolias coincide with the “new season” in the garden; the time of year when the garden gears up to welcome its spring, summer and autumn visitors. Once again, a mild winter has put the two out of sync.
Continue reading "Magnolias in bloom"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 12:41 PM on March 3, 2005
Welcome Anew!
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Long-time visitors to the garden will note a few changes as the garden greets spring. Garden staff have been busy redesigning and renewing the main garden entrance.
Continue reading "Welcome Anew!"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 4:36 PM on March 2, 2005
Celebrating Canadian Heritage
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research is proud to announce that it has joined Heritage Canada's and plans to participate in CHIN's Virtual Museum of Canada.
Continue reading "Celebrating Canadian Heritage"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:59 PM on February 11, 2005
Pursuing Plant Conservation
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News , Local Plant Conservation
“The International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation (website link) is a global policy framework for botanic gardens worldwide to contribute to biodiversity conservation, particularly as it relates to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity.” (source: BGCI International)
Continue reading "Pursuing Plant Conservation"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 10:59 AM on December 7, 2004
A New Addition to the Garden
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
The UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research has taken delivery of a splendid new addition: a 24 tonne granite boulder. This rock was deposited by glacial ice some 18,000 years ago on the flank of Hollyburn Mt, about 10 kms north of the garden. Its modern-day owner, Kathleen Whitehead, has generously donated it and arranged for it to be moved to the UBC Botanical Garden for all to appreciate.
Continue reading "A New Addition to the Garden"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:59 PM on November 22, 2004
Autumn 2004 Newsletter
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Read about the latest news and events at UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research in the Autumn 2004 Newsletter (Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 6:28 PM on October 12, 2004
Magnolia season begins
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
Magnolia sargentiana var. robusta is starting to blossom.
Continue reading "Magnolia season begins"
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 2:57 AM on March 2, 2004
New faces
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
There are some new faces for the new year at UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 3:34 AM on January 15, 2004
Garden Holiday Hours Reminder
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
UBC Botanical Garden is open every day throughout the holidays from 10 AM to 3 PM. Nitobe Memorial Garden is closed and will reopen January 5 at 10 AM. The Shop in the Garden is closed until January 19.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 11:05 AM on December 24, 2003
The Centre for Plant Research and Forest 2020
Category(-ies): Botanical Garden News
For details and photographs of the visit, please see:
UBC Centre for Plant Research Weblog - Forest 2020 Announcements
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 1:21 AM on November 28, 2003