Bonsai Garden

HCP’s Bonsai Garden is the largest outdoor Bonsai Garden in Canada and the only outdoor Bonsai Garden in Western Canada. First created in 2014, the Bonsai Garden houses over 60 trees.

Taken from the Japanese phrase for “plant in a tray,” Bonsai acquired its name through the artform of miniaturizing trees. The process is lengthy and finnicky, but it is an artform built on patience and resilience. The arrangements and containers work together as a unified whole to present an artistic representation of mature trees.

The collection is diverse and displays many native Vancouver Island trees including Mountain Hemlock, Douglas Fir, White Spruce, Ponderosa Pine, Yellow Cedar, Western Red Cedar, and Shore Pine. There are also more exotic trees including Japanese Maple, Chinese Elm, Pyracantha, Japanese Larch, Hornbeam, Beech, Hinoki Cypress, Japanese Black Pine, and Shimpaku Juniper.

Can you find the oldest tree in the collection?