Fairmont Waterfront Hotel – Vancouver, British Columbia ~ Below: The Rooftop Gardens
On a long-awaited visit to Vancouver, British Columbia, I reveled in a blissful stay at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. The room’s comfortable, contemporary decor and great views were a welcome prequel to my tour of the Fairmont’s rooftop culinary garden.
Installed around 1991, the hotel’s rooftop array had been on my radar for some time. At 2,100 square feet, the 3rd floor green oasis holds a place as one of the first living roofs in a city that now boasts the largest green roof in Canada, the nearby 6-acre Vancouver Convention Centre.
Patrick Dore at Herb Garden Gates
The plantings were refreshed in 2006, and fifteen cubic yards of compost later, the garden layout boasts box hedging that effectively defines the planting beds. Espaliered apples and bay trees add beauty and structure to the design. Not surprisingly, organic gardening practices are employed in these productive gardens, where the Fairmont chefs harvest such delicacies as alpine strawberries, rose blossoms, lovage and calendulas, for the tasty fare at Herons Restaurant. May through September you can tour the garden, or book to see Bee Hive demonstrations: the honeybees are the latest addition to the gardens. Phone or check the web site for tour times. Tours of the Herb Garden can also be arranged along with a lunch reservation in Herons.
Garden Plan Fairmont Hotel Roof Garden
As you might imagine, these organic gardens are a haven for many species of birds. Here’s a gardening tip revealed on my tour of the garden: Orange pekoe tea with a little bit of soap added is used at times for aphid control.
A Birds Eye View .. Fairmont Waterfront Hotel Roof Garden Plan: The hotel offers guest rooms with views of the garden’s herbs and flowers; also Terrace Rooms featuring private patios that lead to the garden.
I live in Vancouver and am aware of some of the green roofs(Vancouver Library) but hadn’t appreciated that a tour was possible. Thank you for that information.