There are many beautiful gardens in Greater Vancouver. Probably the largest, most extensive garden is Van Dusen Gardens. Vancouver Sun columnist Steve Whysall has started producing podcast tours of local gardens. The only one available so far is a tour of Van Dusen Gardens.

 A close second in popularity, and free to tour, is Queen Elizabeth Park. It includes the Bloedel Conservatory, which has a small admission fee, but is a fun place to go with kids because of all the birds flying around.

Other popular gardens include the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the UBC Botanical Garden, the Nitobe Memorial Garden at UBC, and the Park & Tilford Gardens. A hidden gem is the small Japanese-style garden surrounding UBC's Asian Centre (just across the road from Nitobe Garden), which incorporates delightful dry water features.

If you are willing to drive, there are Minter Gardens in Chilliwack (about 1 hr east of Vancouver).