Straight ahead is our first stop, the traditional Herb Garden displaying culinary herbs contained by hedges of box, santolina, and other fragrant herbs. Take the time to smell and savor, then proceed across the gravel path to the Stanley Smith Rock Garden.

This little rockery, which wouldn’t fit into a home garden, provides year-round interest with dwarf conifers (including a weeping sequoia), a pool with miniature water lily and ever-changing colors of miniature bulbs and perennials. Continue ahead up the steps into the Formal Rose Garden.

This garden, based on Renaissance styling, is planted with hybrid tea, ilorib,reda and shrub roses. Before the development of these roses in the late nineteenth century, most roses only bloomed once a year. These new repeat-blooming hybrids have become so popular that they now dominate the rose-growing world. As roses dislike competition from other plants, they are often at their best in a formal setting like this, where the only other plants are the boxwood and santolina traditionally used to outline the beds. The geometric design of these gardens usually includes a centre ornament, such as the sundial you see here.

Leave the Formal Garden by the far left steps and make two right tums into the Labummn Walk, bordered by shade4oving perennials and groundcovers. At the next intersection bear left along the walk between the tree roses. Tree roses, also called standard roses, are created by grafting any type of rose onto a tall stem. The mound on your left features a collection of oaks. At the end of the walk you will see the Lath House on your left; its colorful collection of hanging baskets makes an interesting side trip. Turn right through the archway of weeping beech trees to glimpse a view of the mountains beyond, and enter the Perennial Garden.

This style of border was developed in England in the late nineteenth century to display hardy perennial plants from America, Europe and Asia in a naturalistic manner, as opposed to the tender bedding schemes popular with Victorians. On the right is a classic border, backed by a yew hedge. On the left are modem island beds requiring less maintenance and featuring both traditional plants and new introductions, including grasses. At the next intersection, continue straight ahead, then right across the little stone bridge into the Heather Garden.

This is an example of the other great English garden style, the naturalistic landscape, developed in the eighteenth century and here displaying heather and associated plants such as Scots pine and birch. Look closely. The Scots heather (Cailuna) has scale-like leaves and blooms in the late summer; the heaths (Erica) have needie-llke leaves and provide almost year-round bloom. Follow the trail on the right past the white birches and through the Stone Grotto.

As you come through the Grotto, you see Livingstone Lake ahead and to your right. It was named for W.C. Livingstone who worked for the Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation in the 1960s. He created the lakes and rockwork which are a main feature of VanDusen Garden. His vision of a botanical garden was summed in the phrase "Delightful scientific shade! For knowledge, as for pleasure made." His work allows VanDusen Garden to combine an outstanding plant collection with superb landscape design. The pines you see around you are a few of the more than 110 species of pine, which are native to the northern hemisphere.

Turn right and walk along the edge of the lake. Enjoy the water lilies and Southern Hemisphere Collection across the water. On your right the long bed contains members of the rose family (Rosaceae) including apples, pears, cherries, strawberries, putentillas and cotoneaster. It is one of the plant families most used and most altered by humans.

At the end of the lake, turn right to return to the Garden Pavfiion. To your right is the Fragrance Garden which features changing seasonal displays in raised concrete planters.