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Be a Plant Explorer

Be a plant explorer! With over 8000 different kinds of plants, UBC Botanical Garden is the perfect place to learn about plant diversity. Travel down jungle-like paths and look for secret flowers and hidden treasures as you imagine yourself walking through the forests of China. Hear the soft crunch of volcanic rock beneath your shoes as you see yourself in the mountains of Europe. Pad like a deer through the coastal forest of British Columbia.

The Asian garden contains many plants “discovered” by plant explorers on expeditions to China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Burma, Japan and other parts of Asia. Many of these plant explorers lived a hundred years ago or more, but there are still a few plant explorers today - in fact, the gardener in charge of the Asian garden is a modern-day plant explorer!

Peter Wharton travels to Asia almost every year in search of new and interesting plants. He's one of the reasons why UBC Botanical Garden is known for its unique plants, and why it's an exciting place for both visitors and scientists.

Follow in a plant explorer's footsteps!

Follow in the footsteps of famous plant explorers at UBC Botanical Garden and “rediscover” plants that were new to Europeans a hundred years ago! Look for trails named after some of these plant explorers: