The VHS is active in the community in many ways, including providing financial support to those who share our love of gardening. We gratefully acknowledge members who have made donations and bequeathments to support our community work.
Doris Page Winter Garden at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific (HCP)
The Doris Page Winter Garden was established in 1985 with funds from the VHS. The VHS also provides ongoing annual financial support. This beautiful garden is named after Doris Page, a past VHS president and active gardening educator who promoted year-round gardening in Greater Victoria. Doris spent decades demonstrating the potential for winter gardening in our climate. In addition to bringing hellebores to Victoria, Doris was the host of the popular CHEK TV program ‘Island Country Garden’ and president of the VHS from 1973-74 and 1979-80. The Doris Page Winter Garden is developed and maintained by the volunteers of the Doris Page Partnership Group in partnership with the HCP.
Endowments to Support Horticulture Students in Victoria
The VHS has established two commemorative endowments which are administered by the Victoria Foundation. These endowments grant four bursaries annually to Horticulture Technician students at two local colleges: the Pacific Horticulture College at HCP and Camosun College.
- Victoria Horticultural Society Jill Stewart-Bowen Bursary Fund: Established in June 2005, this award is named after a beloved past VHS President and newsletter editor, Jill Stewart-Bowen. Two bursaries are granted annually in September, one each to a student at the Pacific Horticulture College and Camosun College.
- Victoria Horticultural Society Beastall-Van Dyk Bursary Fund: Established in December 2002, this award is named after three VHS stalwarts: Harry VanDyk, a well-known local nursery owner and landscaper; and Jack and Hilda Beastall, cornerstones of Victoria’s horticultural community who served on the VHS executive, owned and operated the Tillicum Nursery and served as the gardening experts in the local newspaper and on their radio program. Two bursaries are granted annually in September one each to a student at the Pacific Horticulture College and Camosun College.
Diane Pierce and Hector Bussière Annual Grant to HCP
Diane Pierce and Hector Bussière joined the VHS in 1973. To mark their milestone 50-year membership and their extraordinary volunteer efforts over the years, the VHS established an annual grant in their names. Given there long standinginvolvement with the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific a grant of $1000 to the HCP was established. A scholarship of $500 isawarded to an exemplary Pacific Horticulture College student, and the remaining $500 is used to support the Centre’s long-awaited database project to catalogue all the plants in the gardens.
Grants to Local Groups
The VHS regularly provides grants to small local non-profit groups and organizations whose missions match our mandate: “Share What You Know, Show What You Grow.”
Past recipients of VHS grants include:
- Victoria Seedy Saturday, an annual seed-exchange event.
- Lifecycles, a local non-profit that provides school gardening programs.
- Victoria High School Garden, for tools, seeds and material supports.
- The Island Pollinator Initiative (IPI) taskforce to help save pollinators.
- Government House gardens: VHS provided funding to support garden renovations and the formation of the Friends of Government House Gardens Society.