Barrie Agar, Head Gardener at Hatley Park National Historic Site

October’s guest speaker Barrie Agar, Head Gardener at Hatley Park National Historic Site, will share highlights of the beautiful gardens surrounding Hatley Castle (often incorrectly called Royal Roads). Barrie will also provide historical background and describe the challenges of operating this heritage site so designated in 1995. Hatley Castle was originally built for BC’s notorious coal baron James Dunsmuir in 1908. The gardens’ construction began in 1912 under the direction of landscape architects Franklin Brett and George D. Hall of Boston. Their design goal: the style of an Edwardian Park (think Downton Abbey). Covering some 565 acres, in its heyday Hatley Park employed 100 gardeners! Elegant Italian, serene Japanese, and colorful Rose gardens continue to impress visitors a century later.