All posts tagged with: VanDusen

In honour of Vancouver’s largest plant sale on Sunday, April 28, it seems fitting to celebrate with a botanical-inspired cocktail. After all, you’ll probably need a drink after attending the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s annual plant sale. From 10am – 4pm there will be over 40,000 plants for sale starting at $2 each, and will attract over 10,000 people! It’s truly green-thumb madness! It’s free to attend, so why not go and check it out.

Back to the Cocktail of the Week feature… In the 18^th century, Sir Hans Sloane was a leading botanist and plant collectors in London. The professor introduced England to drinking chocolate and made significant contributions to the founding of the British Museum. On top of all these achievements, he was enjoyed a good drink. Sloane Square Bar in London English, has honoured the influential nobleman by creating a tasty cocktail, and respecting his love of nature. The Sir Hans Sloane Botanist is a refreshing cocktail perfect for enjoying on a spring day.

• ¾” Slice of English Cucumber
• 6 Fresh Mint Leaves
• 2 oz Gin
• ½ oz Apple Juice
• ½ oz Elderflower Cordial

Dice cucumber, then muddle in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Fill the cocktail shaker half full of ice. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until mixed. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

Photo credit: F Dufour

Couples from across metro Vancouver have known for years that the best kept-secret for a romantic date is at VanDusen Gardens. Last summer, Truffles Café, located in the newly expanded visitors centre, offered up romantic picnic baskets. This year, Truffles is taking it another step further, introducing a charcuterie platter.

The growing trend in Vancouver’s food scene are small plates and charcuterie. Perhaps it is because of our laid back approach and lifestyle that the trend continues to grow in popularity at many of the hottest locations serving up the new and preferred format of dining for couples.

“In Europe, we have always eaten this way,” explains Truffle’s executive chef, Reto Ballat. “It’s relaxed and civilized.”

The new charcuterie platter includes Prosciutto and Genoa Salami, and a rotating selection of cheeses which could include Brie, smoked cheddar and aged Parmesan. Also served with the platter are fresh grapes, dried fruit, artisan biscuits and candied pecans, making the serving big enough for two people.

A romantic date isn’t complete without a glass of wine, and with Truffles new license, they are now offering a selection of BC wine, beer, and cider.

“It’s how I, and my friends, like to eat” says Truffles Café Manager Scott Arnold. “I can imagine people sitting on our patio, looking out at the fantastic view of VanDusen, lingering over the Charcuterie Platter with Wine for a light lunch, or at the end of a hectic work day. You don’t even know you’re in the middle of a bustling city.”

The charcuterie platter is $18 and glasses of wine start at $8.  Order both the platter and two glasses of wine and the price is just $28 (saving $6).

If you have an anniversary, birthday, or other special day coming up and want to surprise your significant other, head to VanDusen Gardens and give the new charcuterie platter with wine a try… you’ll be glad you did.

CONTEST

Enter for a chance to win a $50 gift card to Truffles Café. To enter, tweet the following:

I want to win a $50 gc to @TrufflesCafe from @br_webb to surprise a date to try the new charcuterie platter http://ow.ly/hNnZR  #WinTruffles

Once you have tweeted this contest you can receive up to four additional chances to win by doing the following:

1. Subscribe to myWebbSite.ca and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you have subscribed for an additional entry.
2. Follow @br_webb on Twitter and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you are a new follower for an additional entry.
3. Leave a comment on this blog post explaining the most romantic date you’ve ever been on.
4. Share this blog post on Facebook and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you have shared on Facebook for an additional entry.

Contest closes at 5:00pm PST, Wednesday, February 27, 2013. One random drawn winner will be announced on this blog post on or before Friday, March 1, 2013. Read the complete contest rules.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

This contest is now closed.

Congratulations Darwin C, you are the lucky winner of a $50 gift card to Truffles Cafe.

Thank you to everyone who entered. Please keep watching for more contests coming soon.

The holiday season is an amazing time to share with friends, family and your special someone. This Christmas, surprise the one you love with a date night to one of the most romantic places in Vancouver, the Festival of Lights at the VanDusen Botanical Garden’s.

Hold hands and stroll down Candy Cane Lane, explore Gingerbread Wood, and skip your way through the Sparkling Spruce, all under the glow of thousands of twinkling miniature Christmas lights.

Grab a cup of hot cider and watch the lights dance to the beat of the music on Livingstone Lake, have your photo taken with Santa Clause, and sing all your favourite holiday songs with the Community Choir.

The Festival of Lights runs December 7 to January 1, excluding Christmas Day from 4:30pm – 9:00pm. Tickets are $14.25 for adults.

CONTEST

Enter for a chance to win two tickets to the opening night of Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Gardens. To enter, tweet the following:

I want to win tickets from @br_webb for a romantic date night at @VanDusenGdn Festival of Lights. http://ow.ly/fKjNG #RomanticChristmas

Receive additional entries by also doing the following:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post.
2. Follow @br_webb on Twitter and leave an additional comment on this blog post confirming you have followed for an additional entry.

Contest closes at 5:00pm PST, Wednesday, December 5, 2012. One random drawn winner will be announced on this blog post on or before Thursday, December 6, 2012. Winner must claim prize and arrange ticket pick-up immediately. Read the complete contest rules.

- – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

This contest is now closed.

Congratulations Nicole, you are the lucky winner of a pair of tickets to VanDusen Festival do Lights!

Thank you to everyone who entered. Please keep watching for more contests coming soon.

Twinkle, twinkle, little Christmas lights! Around Vancouver Christmas lights are popping up everywhere as the holiday season gets into full swing. If you’re looking for some festive cheer to get you into the mood, here are the top four places to see this year for the best Christmas light displays in Vancouver:

Festival of Lights – VanDusen Botanical Gardens

A must-do annual tradition. Thousands of twinkle lights are delicately placed on the prized and rare botanicals throughout the acres of gardens. Light and sound show on Livingstone Lake every half-hour. Most romantic place for a Christmas holiday date night!

• December 7 – January 1(closed Dec 25)
• 4:30pm – 9:00pm
• Oak Street at 37 Avenue
• Adults: $14.25

Bloedel Jewel Box of Lights – Queen Elizabeth Park

Experience Christmas in the tropics! Stay warm and dry inside the conservatory, filled with thousands of Christmas lights and holiday music.

• December 6 – January 1 (closed Dec 25)
• 4:30pm – 9:00pm
• 4600 Cambie Street
• Adults: $7

Bright Nights – Stanley Park

Two-million lights shine bright and light up the park. Miniature Christmas, animated displays, hot cocoa, carols and roasted nuts. Proceeds to BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund.

• November 29 – January 1 (closed Dec 25)
• 3:00pm – 11:00pm
• Stanley Park Pavilion
• Adults $10

A botanical garden is a living museum. Botanical gardens are a collection of plants that have been carefully documented and scientifically organized and presented in a beautiful display for visitors to enjoy. Vancouver is blessed to have a 55-acre site dedicated to preserving the wonders of nature, just moments from downtown.

The site of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens has a rich history. Orginally owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the area was logged at the turn of the 20^th century, harvested for its valuable timber. The Shaughnessy Golf Club took over the site from 1912 until 1966. For five years the Province of British Columbia, City of Vancouver and the VanDusen Botanical Gardens Association worked together  to preserve the site and secure it to become the home of a special garden. In 1975, the first visitors were welcomed and it’s been open to the public ever since.

The gardens are open year-round, and change with the seasons. During the summer months visitors to the gardens will find summer perennials at their peak, tranquility in the woodlands, a bounty of vegetables and herbs and a wide variety of usual annuals throughout.

There are both guided and self-guided tours, or just wonder where your senses take you.

With the warm, long summer days upon us, now is the time to take advantage of a tradition that goes back generations – enjoying a romantic picnic in the park. Truffles Café at VanDusen are a winning combination for an easy and impressive summer lunch date with fresh-made picnic baskets exploding with yummy treats to enjoy in the beautiful gardens.

Each picnic basket includes:

• The use of a light-weight picnic basket and lined picnic blanket
• Admission for two to VanDusen Botanical Garden
• Two sandwiches
• Two salads
• Two beverages
• Cheese, crackers and grapes
• Two cookies

You’re more than welcome to take me on a picnic in the park!

Picnic baskets are on a first-come / first-served basis and can be taken anywhere into the gardens. Please respect the beauty of the garden and animals by bringing back all your garbage and returning the basket and blanket to Truffles when you are done.

The picnic basket package is $58 and $2 from every picnic sold goes to charity.

Earth Art is the use of organic materials taken from the landscape to create sculptures that will decay over time. It is meant to be ephemeral, drawing attention to the beauty of the art and the landscape of which it sits, throughout all of its stages of existence. This summer, the VanDusen Botanical Garden will welcome five international and local artists to participate in an Earth Art exposition in the garden’s 55 acre forum.

Starting in mid-July, artists Nils-Udo, Urs-P. Twellmann, Chris Booth, Nicole Dextras and Michel Dennis will begin moving earth and transform it into their artistic creations. The show will officially open in early August and when complete their works will remain in situ scattered throughout the park. The creations will be viewable to the public during their creation.

The program was made possible thanks to the financial contribution from the estate of Kitty Heller.

Nothing says spring like an afternoon in the garden and afternoon tea with a group of friends. Sure, there are lots of places in Vancouver to get a good, quick cup of tea, there aren’t a lot of places that serve traditional afternoon tea. New this year at VanDusen Gardens is Afternoon Tea.

“It seemed a natural thing to do here,” said Truffles owner Nin Rai. “I can’t imagine a more beautiful setting in which to unwind over a cup of tea. The stress just melts away here.”

Truffles Afternoon Tea includes a three-tiered tray of both sweet and savoury goodies, plus an extensive collection of organic and private label teas. It’s a great value too – just $28 for two people, or $50 for four.

The first tier has a selection of daily sandwiches and fresh-baked sweet or savoury scones. The middle tier has coconut macaroons, shortbread cookies and a croissant for two, and the top tier features jewel-toned French macaroons and petit-fours. The service includes house-made strawberry jam and VanDusen’s very own un-pasteurized organic honey.

The tea selection is pretty special too. The signature tea to try is VanDusen’s very own private label black tea, blended by The Secret Garden Tea Company in honour of the visit of HRH The Duchess of Cornwall in 2010. Other teas include Earl Grey with rose, chocolate mint Roiboos, Masala Chai and Darjeeling.

Afternoon Tea is served every day at Truffles in VanDusen Gardens from 11am – closing. They are located in the new Visitors Centre at VanDusen Botanical Garden (5151 Oak Street, Vancouver).

Step by step, row by row, gonna make this garden grow… or so says the popular children’s song.

One of my favourite spring / summer / fall past times if photographing flora and fauna, so when I heard that VanDusen Botanical Gardens was hosting their annual Seedy Saturday heritage seed exchange I got pretty excited. Just think – for over 20 years, hundreds of metro Vancouver green thumbs have been meeting up the last Saturday of every February , itching to get their hands on some of the most sought after seeds and plants available.

Open from 10:00am – 4:00pm in the Floral Hall of the Administration Building, the BC Master Gardeners Association presents a celebration of seed-swapping fun. Over 30 growers, seed companies and exhibitors will be exchanging and selling all kinds of organic and heritage varieties of seeds and plants.

Admission is by donation. If you have kids, bring them along too – there’s a special Kids Corner with seed related activities.

Photo Credit: Raymon Wong

Best-known for her fresh-baked muffins and scones, Holli Wilson has brought her passion for baking to the new casual Truffles Café now open at Vancouver’s VanDusen Botanical Garden.

“I love to bake,” Holli said. “I make everything from scratch and put a lot of love in it. Love is my favourite ingredient.”

Located in the new Living Building, the casual café was established after Nin Rai, owner of Truffles Fine Foods and L’Abbatoir Restaurant, successfully won the bid through an exhaustive RFP process.

The café features floor to ceiling windows that overlook the Woodland Garden and Livingstone Lake. Seating ranges from small tables and chairs to comfy lounge chairs and a couch – providing a casual and relaxing ambiance. It is also the only location at VanDusen Garden with WiFi access.

The casual dining café will include fare made from fresh, local ingredients. Breakfast will include croissants, parfaits and burritos. For lunch there will be a hot item feature, two soups, salads, sandwiches, fruit salads and desserts. The affordable price menu has most items at $5 or less, with the most expensive item coming in at only $8.

Once spring comes around, this April, Truffles will offer Afternoon Tea, with traditional savoury sandwiches, sweet treat and black and organic teas. There will also be picnic baskets to take out into the garden this summer.

Truffles Café is open daily from 8:00am to 5:00pm in the new Visitor Centre at VanDusen Botanical Garden, located at 5151 Oak Street between W 33Avenue and W 37 Avenue in Vancouver, BC.

The most romantic date night in Vancouver this holiday season is at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens. Every night from now until January 2, 2012 (excluding Christmas Day), the VanDusen Botanical Gardens will be open from 4:30pm – 9:00pm for the annual Festival of Lights.

The highlight event at the gardens are the Dancing Lights on Livingstone Lake. There are two different shows that play every half-hour starting at 4:30pm – one at the top of the hour, and the second on the half-hour, repeating in sequence throughout the evening. The magical light show dazzles the imagination.

Throughout the park there are displaying including the Gingerbread Woods, Golden Chain Walk, Make-a-Wish Shrine, Candy Cane Lane and the Sparkling Spruce in the Centre Court.

There are community choir concerts and hot food and beverages. Santa even makes appearances every hour from 5:30pm – 8:30pm in Santa’s Living Room.

Tickets are $13.50 for adults (19-64). It’s best to arrive early, especially on weekends, to avoid the long line-ups.

[slideshow]

Vancouver’s Bloedel Floral Conservatory first opened its doors in December 1969 thanks to a generous donation by Prentice Bloedel. The Bloedel Floral Conservatory is located in Queen Elizabeth Park, the highest point in the City of Vancouver.

The triodetic domed Conservatory is home to a wide variety of exotic plants, flowers, birds and Koi fish from around the world. The Conservatory is open year round. Each year the Conservatory is host to a stunning Christmas light and floral display throughout the month of December.

The Vancouver Parks Board almost closed the Conservatory because of a funding shortage, but in September 2010, the Vancouver Parks Board and the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association reached a mutual agreement to keep the Conservatory open.

For more information on the Bloedel Floral Conservatory, including hours of operation and admission fees, please visit their website.