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  • Roses
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    • Rose Bloom Balling
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    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
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    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
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    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
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    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
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    • Mediterranean Spurge
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    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
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The Trees of Hatley Castle

A Tree collection For the AGes

Hatley Castle,Hatley Park
Hatley Castle is nestled among a collection of large trees.
It was a fine October day in 2021 when I last visited the Hatley Park Estate at the Royal Roads University. This National Historic Site, located in Greater Victoria, B.C., consists of 650 acres that wraps around the exquisite Hatley Castle. This Elizabethan style mansion was built for James Dunsmuir, a coal industrialist, in 1908. Since 1995, the castle and the estate has been the home of Royal Roads University. In the 1940’s to 1995, it was a military college. Today, the castle and surrounding grounds are a popular tourist attraction, and rightfully so. It is one of my favorite places to visit when I go to Victoria. 
Hatley Castle grounds
The huge beech in the winter of 2006.
The trees of Hatley Castle and Royal Roads University campus
The same beech tree, October 2021. It's grown some.
It’s not just the jaw-dropping castle that lures tourists and locals alike, it the vast surrounding grounds of Hatley Park. There’s the formal Italian Garden, the Perennial Garden, the Japanese and Rose Garden, but if it’s trees you’re interested in, then this is the place for you.   ​
walking trails at Hatley Park
Fifteen kilometers, over 9 miles, of trails snake through the surrounding forest.
forest at Hatley Park
Large old trees dominate the grounds at Hatley Park.
The estate has bragging rights to a huge 250-year-old Douglas fir, but there are many other splendid trees including ones that are very old and have a presence all their own. I imagine some of them must have been planted when the castle was built or shortly thereafter as they are immense. Benches look like toys underneath their far-spreading canopies. Tree trunks are gnarled, twisted and crusty with aged bark that must have seen generations walk by and provided shelter from sun and rain. To learn more click on hatleycastle.com​
Pacific madrone,Arbutus menziesii,Hatley Park
An old Pacific madrone, Arbutus menziesii, shows off its contorted branches and orange-red bark.
Pacific madrone at Hatley Park
The Pacific madrone, is a broadleaf evergreen tree native to coastal western North America. Zones 6 to 8.
Arbutus,Hatley Park,Royal Roads University
Mature Pacific madrone trees grow to 98 feet and have longevity of over 300 years.
beech tree,Fagus sylvatica
This old beech tree dominates the grounds.
trees with fall color,autumn trees
Beech leaves cover the ground at the onset of autumn.
Picture
Beech leaves provide a pretty canopy.
grafted little leaf linden,tilia,Hatley Castle
A grafted littleleaf linden, Tilia cordata leafy canopy.
Picture
The grounds include benches to sit and view the stunning scenery.
Picture
The bud union on the grafted little leaf linden.
trees of Hatley Castle
The finely serrated heart-shaped leaves of the little leaf linden.
Picture
It's October and this copper beech, Fagus sylvatica 'Cuprea' is just beginning to turn colour.
Hatley Castle gardens
In the surrounding first and second growth forest, there are trees over 900 years old.
blue atlas cedar,Cedrus libani spp. atlantica 'Glauca',Royal Roads University
A blue atlas cedar, Cedrus libani spp. atlantica 'Glauca'. front of the Royal Roads University campus.
Picture
The flowers of the blue Atlantic cedar emerge in the fall.
cones of the blue atlas cedar,Cedrus libani spp. atlantica 'Glauca'.
The cones of the blue Atlantic cedar appear in February.
Hatley Castley
The castle and surrounding gardens have an old world charm.
purple leaf plum,Hatley Castle,Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea'
The outstreched branches of an aging purple leaf plum, Prunus cerasifera 'Atropurpurea'.
Picture
I wonder how many people this very old tree has witnessed passing through these gates.
sugar maple trees at Hatley Castle
A sugar maple (Acer saccharum) shows off it's fine bones in the sunlight.
Picture
This sugar maple is just starting to show it's fall colours.
Picture
The sugar maple is the national symbol of Canada and produces Canada's famous and delicious maple syrup.
Legacy sugar maple
This Legacy sugar maple will grow to 50 feet at maturity with a 30 foot canopy spread.
Picture
A young Legacy sugar maple is dwarfed by a mature horsechestnut tree.
Picture
Monkey-puzzle trees grow from 50 to 80 feet with a spread up to 30 feet.
Picture
An upcoming monkey-puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana may reach 80 feet at maturity.
trees of Hatley Park in Victoria
The trees of Hatley Park in October.
horsechestnut tree,Aesculus hippocastanum
A perfectly rounded horsechesnut tree, Aesculus hippocastanum, They can grow up to 75 by 60 ft.
trees with fall colour
A bench looks tiny under the yellow canopy of a horsechestnut tree.
Picture
The changing leaves of a horsechestnut tree.
Picture
A bench under the horsechestnut tree looks like a child's toy.
douglas fir Hatley Castle,Pseudotsuga menzei
A giant douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menzei, is native to North America.
Picture
The aging bark of a douglas fir.
dwarf hemlock,Hatley Castle,Tsuga heterophylla.
An aging dwarf hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla.
Picture
The soft evergreen needles of a hemlock.

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  • Home
  • About, Services, Contact
  • Ask Amanda
  • Roses
    • Types of Roses
    • Easy Roses
    • Climbing Roses
    • Portland's Rose Test Garden
    • Rose Insects & Diseases
    • Pruning Roses
    • Rose Sawfly
    • Rose Bloom Balling
  • Pruning Basics 101
    • Pruning Tools
    • Winter Pruning
    • Pruning Grapes
    • Pruning Clematis
    • Prune Your Own Garden Registration
  • Lawn Basics
    • Lawn Reno, Seed & Sod
    • Lawn Maintenance Schedule
    • Spring Lawn Care
    • Moss in Lawns
    • Lawn Alternatives
    • Lawn Grub Control
  • Mulch & Mulching
    • Living Mulches - Groundcovers
  • Propagation
    • Growing Seeds Outdoors
    • Growing Seeds Indoors
    • Taking Cuttings
    • Seed & Plant Catalogues
  • How to Garden Topics
    • Fall Garden Chores
    • Planting Know-How
    • Soil Building
    • Watering Tips & Techniques
    • Drought Gardening
    • Sheet Mulching, Lasagna Gardening
    • Cover Crops
    • Composting
    • Compost Tea
    • Houseplant Winter Care
    • Hummingbirds in Winter
    • Winterize Your Garden
    • Ponds in Winter
  • Growing Food
    • Spring Veggie Gardening
    • Crop Rotation, Succession & Companion Planting
    • Harvesting
    • Growing Potatoes
    • Winter Veggie Gardening
    • Taming Tomatoes
    • Speeding up Tomato Harvest
    • Tomato Tips
    • Saving Tomato Seeds
    • Tomato Troubles
  • Plant Pests 1
    • Plant Pests Part 2 - Controlling Insects
    • Garden Inspections
    • Helping Pollinators
    • Dogwood Anthracnose
    • Viburnum Leaf Beetle
    • Dormant Oil/Lime Sulfur
    • Japanese Beetles
    • Peony Blotch/Measles
    • Slugs & Snails
    • Horsetail, the Weed
    • June Beetle
    • Powdery Mildew
    • Soil Solarization
    • Rhododendron Leaf Spot
    • Plant Rusts
    • Black Knot
  • Container Growing
    • Choosing a Container
  • Feeding Plants 101
    • Fertilizers & Ratios
    • Nutritional Deficiencies & Toxicities
    • Organic Plant Food
  • Plant of the Month
    • Spring Flowering Bulbs
    • Colourful Fall Plants
    • Abelia
    • American Sweetgum
    • Ash (Fraxinus) Trees
    • Astilbes
    • Aubretia, Rock Cress
    • Aucuba, Japanese Spotted Laurel
    • Autumn Crocus
    • Bear's Breeches
    • Beautyberry, Callicarpa
    • Black-eyed Susans
    • Bleeding Heart, Lamprocapnos spectabilis
    • Calla Lilies
    • Dahlias
    • Daylily
    • Delphiniums
    • Devil's Walking Stick, Aralia spinosa
    • Dwarf Alberta Spruce
    • Dwarf Burning Bush
    • Fall Asters
    • Flowering Currants
    • Flowering Quince
    • Fritillaria
    • Garden Peonies
    • Garden Phlox
    • Ginkgo biloba
    • Grape-hyacinths
    • Handkerchief or Dove Tree
    • Harry Lauder's Walking Stick
    • Heathers
    • Hellebores, Lenten roses
    • Himalayan Sweet Box
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit, Cobra Lily
    • Japanese Anemones
    • Japanese Forest Grass
    • Japanese Maples
    • Japanese Skimmia
    • Japanese Spurge
    • Laurustinus viburnum
    • Lavenders
    • Lily-of-the-Valley Shrub, Pieris japonica
    • Mediterranean Spurge
    • Mexican Mock Orange
    • Montana Clematis
    • Mountain Ash
    • Oriental Poppies
    • Oriental Lilies
    • Paperbark Maple
    • Pink Dawn Bodnant Viburnum
    • Poinsettias
    • Oregon Grape Holly
    • Ornamental Kale
    • Peruvian Lily, Alstroemeria
    • Phalaenopsis, Moth Orchids
    • Persian Silk Tree
    • Portuguese Laurel
    • Rose of Sharon
    • Sneezeweed, Helenium
    • Snowberry
    • Snowdrops
    • Star Magnolia
    • Strawberry Tree, Pacific Madrone
    • Stewartia
    • Torch Lily, Kniphofia uvaria
    • Tree Peonies
    • Tuberous Begonias
    • Virginia Creeper
    • Weigela
    • Winterhazel, Corylopsis
    • Winter Camellia, C. sasanqua
    • Wintergreen, Gaultheria procumbens
    • Witch Hazel
    • Wood Anemones
    • Yews
  • Garden Tour Blogs
  • Monthly Flower Arrangements
  • Website Index
  • Subscribe
  • Need Help?