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The Hatley Park estate comprised of about 650 acres. The original Hatley Park house stood on the site that is now the student parking lot (lot 3). This house had been completely destroyed by fire while its owner was in England. Having amassed a huge fortune, James now turned his attention to the building and planning of the new estate to which he intended to retire.
The site features hundreds of heritage trees significant for their size, rarity and diversity, including 250-year-old Douglas firs that are among the largest in the area. The showpieces of the park are generally considered to be the formal gardens of which the Italian, the Rose and the Japanese gardens are the best known.
The Rose Garden was designed in 1913 by Brett and Hall, and its structure reflects the romantic taste of the Edwardian era. Many of the popular Hybrid Perpetuals and Hybrid Tea roses first planted in it did not prove to be hardy, and very few of them exist in modern gardens. However, one American Pillar in this garden did survive, as did several maintained through cuttings from it. Four of them are located precisely where they appear on the planting plan. Other survivors are Gruss an Teplitz and La France..........Read More
The Italian Garden is the most formal of the gardens and features a symmetrical layout. The general layout of the garden has remained much the same throughout the years. Plantings in the Italian Garden are seasonal and statues representing the four seasons can be found throughout: Pomona, Ceres, Flora and Hebe..........Read More
Many of the formal structural elements and the trees in the Japanese Garden date from its creation in 1910. Japanese landscape gardener Isaburo Kishida, of Yokohama, designed this garden. (Kishida also created private gardens for several local residents, including Robert and Jennie Butchart)..........Read More
