In a small, tucked-away corner of Windsor Park, 25 varieties of roses grow skyward.
These colourful, fragrant flowers are the centrepieces of the Oak Bay Rose Garden, where vibrant yellow, pink and red blooms stay hidden from passersby behind walls of well-groomed hedges.
Like dozens of spaces in Oak Bay, this little oasis boasts a rich heritage, one that extends back 88 years to Ada Beaven – the wife of one of the district’s most prominent residents.
Married to Hugo Beavan, the son of Robert Beaven, who served as British Columbia’s fifth premier from 1882 to 1883, Ada donated 500 roses to Oak Bay in 1937 – a gift meant to honour the man she loved.
“Ada ... donated the roses in the rose garden in honour of her husband who had died,” said Jean Sparks, a former Oak Bay archivist. “She was a very generous person.”
While Hugo spent his weekdays working for the Canadian Bank of Commerce on Douglas Street, much of his spare time was focused on putting, chipping and driving at the Victoria Golf Club. He also liked to hunt and fish.
But the man’s primary passion had little to do with sports; he was mainly interested in horticulture, specifically planting and growing roses. His 1176 Beach Dr. home, which was torn down years ago to make way for an apartment building, was well-known for the roses that peppered the property. Hugo was also a rose show judge and even introduced new rose varieties to the district.
“He planted and knew everything that there was to know ... on roses,” said Sparks.
As for Ada, she wasn't just known for her floral donation; she supported the Canadian Institute for the Blind, the Veterans’ Hospital and the Victoria Art Gallery, among other groups and causes. The woman was also well-recognized in Oak Bay Village, known for driving her electric car around until just a few days before her death in 1958.
In the decades after those initial roses were planted, Greater Victorians have come to love the tranquillity and beauty the Rose Garden offers.
Lenny Strohschein, who works for Oak Bay’s parks department, is just one of the people who appreciate the space for all it has to offer. For the last 15, years, she has been part of a skilled team responsible for tending to the garden’s array of roses.
“My favourite part is definitely what comes after the hard work, what you get from it,” she said. “I absolutely love the roses, I love the fragrance. You get a lot of satisfaction with cleaning them up because it produces more blooms.”
