The Carolinian Forest

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UBC Botanical Garden has completed the development of one of our newest features: the Carolinian Forest. One thousand cubic metres of soil were extracted from a former construction site on South Campus and spread on an expanse of Botanical Garden hillside that has lain dormant since 1972.

Botanical Garden visitors, staff, volunteers, students and faculty have repeatedly expressed interest in eastern North American hardwoods. The late Gerald Straley, a Virginia native and former Curator of Collections at the Botanical Garden, had always advocated for such a collection, arguing that there were few examples of this rich and biologically important floristic assemblage displayed anywhere locally. Significantly, a large number of eastern North American plants have their closest relatives in east Asia, while others have relatives in both Asia and western North America. Amassing Carolinian species here has enabled the garden to link collections of a number of important genera and species groups, such as Liriodendron (tulip poplar), magnolia, Acer (maple) and rhododendron. Beyond biogeographic comparisons, other educational objectives, such as conservation and biodiversity research, are more easily accomplished with the addition of the arboretum. So much of the eastern hardwood forest, including its associated shrubby and herbaceous flora, is significant from an aesthetic point of view. The Carolinian Forest has been enormously popular with all of our visitors.

Most of the seeds which were used for the Carolinian forest were collected in the wild from forests in eastern Canada and the Maritimes to the Carolinas and Georgia. Approximately 300 trees and shrubs, representing more than 100 different species, have been planted. The very first plantings took place in the early spring of 2006.

Another feature of the Carolinian Forest is the Carolinian Garden. It is comprised of 12 individual groves, each named for an early North American plant explorer. The groves exhibit a variety of trees and shrubs, including signature species that have particular significance to the legacies of those explorers. For example, Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel) was planted in the Kalm Grove. Pehr Kalm (1716-1779) was an explorer-botanist born in Sweden and a student of Carolus Linnaeus who collected in the northernmost parts of the eastern hardwood forest (including Québec). Franklinia alatamaha resides in the Bartram Grove. American John Bartram (1699-1777), who Linnaeus described as the greatest natural botanist in the world, discovered this beautiful camellia relative (named for Bartram’s friend Benjamin Franklin) while collecting plants with his son near the Altamaha River in Georgia in 1770s. Bartram was among the last to see this species in the wild.

The Carolinian Forest’s location on the hillside adjacent to the Garry Oak Meadow and Woodland Garden and overlooking Southwest Marine Drive and Georgia Strait beyond, have made it visible from all areas of the east garden, as well as from the Botanical Garden entrance and the proposed Visitor Centre. We invite you to come explore this exciting development and share in a spectacularly beautiful arboretum.

A woodland garden of global scientific value

Above you are vigorous familiar climbers such as wisteria, roses and clematis as well as many outstanding unusual varieties, scampering through centuries-old cedar, fir and hemlock. The gourd-shaped nests of the common bush-tit hang in the air as squirrels dart across your path.

You have entered the David C. Lam Asian Garden, largest component of the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden. From Tibet, Japan, China, Korea, Manchuria and other regions, some of the most ancient flowering plants, the magnolia, are gathered together in the greatest number on the continent. Here also is one of the continent's largest collection of rhododendrons. Paper-bark, snake-bark and many other examples of Asian maples add vibrant colour, shape and texture.

Shade-loving perennials, rare shrubs and lush ferns nestle within this peaceful forest. Plants previously considered not hardy in Vancouver thrive beneath the immense native canopy which provides shade and protection from northwest winds.

You are surrounded by the results of ongoing expeditions by botanists who have explored and collected in the farthest corners of Asia and the close and long-standing and ongoing association of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research with other famed botanical gardens such as Edinburgh, Kew, Nanjing, Hokkaido and the Arnold Aboretum and Harvard.

Visitors are invited to undertake their own personal explorations and discoveries, or to arrange guided tours. There are few spaces between groupings of magnificent plants, but plenty of opportunities to get off main paths where rare plants are scattered and others spring from nurse logs that lay where they have fallen. Towhees, thrushes, robins and song sparrows scratch among the undergrowth.

Living Collections

UBC Botanical Garden started in 1916 with 900 species. By the late 1930s, the Botanical Garden included significant collections of British Columbia natives, willows, alpines, aquatics and medicinal plants, as well as native and exotic trees in the campus arboretum. Unfortunately, much of the old collections were lost or integrated with the campus plantings. The only remnants visible today are some very fine trees in the original arboretum.

Today, the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden collections include those of the main garden, the Botanical Garden Nursery and Nitobe Memorial Garden. Nitobe Memorial Garden is an authentic Japanese tea and stroll garden, but is also a documented collection of Japanese and British Columbia native plants.

Collections policy at UBC Botanical Garden follows a number of important criteria. These include providing plants and plant materials for academic study and research (based primarily on germplasm of documented wild origin), using plants to create attractive public displays, and providing the public with new plants through partnerships with local horticulture industry.

University of British Columbia Botanical Garden houses a number of significant plant group collections, these include: Acer, Clematis, Cornus, Epimedium, hardy Eucalyptus, Hebe, Lardizabalaceae, Lindera, Magnolia, Rhododendron, Sorbus, Styracaceae, BC native flora, alpines and Chinese flora.

Education and Outreach

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Sharing knowledge and appreciation of plants with the UBC community, British Columbians and the world

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A UBC Teaching Resource

UBC Botanical Garden is a "green classroom"; it is a teaching resource used for dozens of University of British Columbia classes. Students from the UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences visit the Physic Garden to understand the history and future of their discipline. The UBC Faculty of Arts uses the garden for coursework in Anthropology, Fine Arts (what better inspiration?), Geography and more.

The garden is also an invaluable teaching and learning resource for professors and students in the UBC Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the UBC Faculty of Science. In particular, the UBC Agroecology Program, UBC Landscape Architecture Program and UBC Department of Botany rely on the living collections and green space present at the garden for teaching in plant taxonomy, horticulture, bryology, landscape design, conservation biology, agroecology and biogeography.

As part of its commitment to life-long learning, UBC Botanical Garden also works with UBC Continuing Studies to offer programs to nontraditional university students. Notable among these cooperative programs is the UBC Certificate in Garden Design.

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Local Education and Outreach

Educating the British Columbian public about plants is a service for the community that UBC Botanical Garden proudly pursues.

Weekend courses and noon lectures by garden staff and associates are available throughout the year, with nominal fees to cover costs. Special evening lectures by guest speakers are occasionally held, often in association with a local plant society (2003 featured Christopher Lloyd, David Mabberley and Helen Dillon). Free noon seminars are held once every month, generally with an emphasis on scientific investigations at the Botanical Garden or the Centre for Plant Research.

Events and plant sales are opportunities for outreach and education not missed by UBC Botanical Garden. The UBC Apple Festival not only features thousands of kilograms of apples, but also gives the public a chance to learn more about apples from the BC Fruit Testers Association, local Master Gardeners and the apple growers themselves. The Native Plant Sale, held in cooperation with the Native Plant Society of British Columbia, features guided tours of the Native Garden and educational booths from local environmental and nature society groups. Other events and sales also feature learning opportunities.

Since 1981, UBC Botanical Garden has offered a telephone horticultural advice service, Hortline. For over twenty years, British Columbians have had the opportunity to talk with a UBC Botanical Garden volunteer or summer student about problems in their garden.

Visitors to UBC Botanical Garden can also learn about plants while they tour the garden. In 2002, a program of interpretative signage was launched to augment the plant labels. Since the purchase of a laser engraving machine in 2001, the number of plant labels has also been steadily increasing, helping visitors learn more about the plants in the garden.

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Global Education and Outreach

The Internet has allowed UBC Botanical Garden to expand the audience of its mission to communicate appreciation and share knowledge of plants. Due to an ever-increasing amount of questions asked of garden staff and volunteers via email, UBC Botanical Garden launched its plant and gardening discussion forums in 2002. This was done with the rationale that the questions and answers should be shared with anyone who can access the information, instead of only the initial inquirer. It has since grown rapidly into a community of plant enthusiasts from both the local area and around the globe.

Although small compared to other Internet gardening discussion forums, the UBC Botanical Garden forum is seemingly the largest of any plant-related forum that fosters communication between the public, other plant professionals and UBC Botanical Garden researchers, staff and volunteers.

Community Shuttle to UBC Botanical Garden

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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 3 community shuttle routes at UBC. C19 goes from Alma and Broadway along NW Marine to UBC. C20 covers destinations and residences on the west side of campus including Totem Park, the Botanical Gardens, Nitobe Gardens, the Museum of Anthropology and the Chan Centre. C22 serves residents on the east side of campus, e.g. Hampton Place and Fairview/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 runs every 20 minutes during most of the day so be sure to check the schedule.

BOOOTIFUL BOTANY HAUNTED HALLOWE'EN EVENT 2009

DESCRIPTION: This exciting event will begin with a self-guided trick-or-treat scavenger hunt, where children and their families work together to find a number of spooky plants in the Garden. At each stop they'll learn unusual facts about plants, while receiving Hallowe'en treats. Participants can then enjoy Hallowe'en crafts and games, and an on-site Hallowe'en exhibit by the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.

Don't forget to wear your costume!

Please Note: This event will occur rain or shine. Dogs are not permitted in UBC Botanical Garden. Garden admission for participants is by donation during the event. Please contact 604-827-4536 for more information. Pre-registration is not required and all aspects of the event are on a first-come, first-served basis. There is limited parking on-site. Additional parking may be available on Old Marine Drive or via metered parking along East Mall, in the Thunderbird Parkade and at Thunderbird Stadium.

The C20 transit shuttle runs from the campus bus-loop to the Garden, while the 41 and 49 buses stop along 16th Avenue, one block south of the Garden. For more details about transit options, including information about cycling routes, please visit Translink.

UBC Botanical Garden is a non-profit organization committed to the environment and local communities. Donations are graciously accepted so that we may continue to offer this type of programming.

Thank you to our event sponsors:

• UBC Campus and Community Planning


• UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research


• Forstbauer Farm


• Local Autoplan Brokers

For more information please visit the following links:

• Campus Map Link


• Translink Link


• Hallowe'en Poster PDF