Finnerty Gardens

Finnerty Gardens, a serene 6.5-acre haven at UVic, showcases one of Canada’s finest rhododendron collections amid rich botanical beauty

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Location

Victoria
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About

Finnerty Gardens is located on the grounds of the University of Victoria.
The site is 2.6 hectares (6.5 acres) and is located in the southwest corner of UVic’s campus.
The gardens were named after the Finnerty family from Ireland.
Michael and John Finnerty were born in County Mayo, Ireland in the 1830s and emigrated after the potato famine.
They arrived in Victoria in 1862, drawn by gold rush news but soon turned to farming.
The brothers bought land in Fernwood and later in Gordon Head, establishing large farms and orchards.
John ran a produce store and had five children with his wife Hannah Cullinan before dying of tuberculosis in 1874. Hannah died in 1883.
Michael remained a bachelor until 1880, when he married Mary Ann Casey and raised three children at Spring Bank Farm.
Mike cleared land, planted orchards, and built Finnerty Road; he lived to around age 90 to 101, passing in 1930.
The Finnerty family farmed in Victoria for nearly 150 years, leaving a lasting legacy.
Their memory is honored with:
- A plaque at Finnerty Gardens
- A stained-glass window at St. Andrew’s Cathedral for John
- A headstone at Ross Bay Cemetery
- An old apple tree still standing in UVic’s Education Quadrangle
These tributes connect the family’s pioneer spirit to key landmarks on campus and in Victoria (source: focusonvictoria.ca).
The gardens were established in 1974 following a bequest from Mrs. Jeanne Buchanan Simpson to the University of Victoria.
She and her husband George had cultivated an extensive collection of rhododendron species at their home in Lake Cowichan, which became the largest of its kind in British Columbia.
By 1988, changing soil conditions required the rhododendrons to be relocated.
The three-month transfer to their current site was led by Anthony James, curator of the university gardens, in collaboration with Dr. Herman Vaartnou.
Today, the plants continue to thrive in their new home, cared for by the Finnerty Garden Friends—a group of UVic alumni and community volunteers.
The gardens boasts that it has one of Canada's best collections of rhododendrons.
The garden contains over 4,000 different trees and shrubs with more than 1,500 rhododendron and azalea plants, including 200 collected rhododendron species, and a spectacular range of artistically displayed companion plants (source: uvic.ca).
Be sure to visit in April or May to see the rhodos bloom!