You will rarely see anything as breathtaking or as beautiful as the current display at the Vandusen Botanical Gardens. Located between Oak St. and Granville St, with access from 37th Ave, this is one of Vancouver's great treasures. Right now there are two displays that are worth dropping whatever you are doing, and run, do not walk to see the Laburnum walk (pictured on the left) and the Azaleas now in their full glory. The azaleas in particular present an overwhelming assault of beauty on the senses. The colours, the scent, the sheer extravagence of this display is so intense as to be hallucinatory!
Short of tripping on peyote with a shaman diguised as a runaway dog, this is as close as you'll ever get to a true psychedelic experience. So take my advice and run, don't walk to Vandusen Botanical Gardens in the next 5 days, because something as beautiful as this, cannot last. Admission to the Garden is $8.50 for adults. With a display like this, it will be the best $8.50 you ever spent. Ask the staff about the secret pathway through the azaleas, once you are in that Secret Garden, you'll feel like you've walked through the looking glass and stepped into a world of overwhelming beauty.
