Is there someone in your life that you would like to honour, celebrate or commemorate, or a special occasion like a birthday, anniversary or a shared memory for which you would like to say, “You are in my thoughts?”

Let someone know that you are thinking of him or her by making a donation to Royal Botanical Gardens.

Donor Acknowledgement
Each tribute gift is acknowledged with:
- A card sent to the honoured individual or next of kin.
- Recognition in a permanent registry book housed at RBG Centre, in our newsletter, Paradise Found, and in Royal Botanical Gardens' annual report.

Donors receive a letter and charitable tax receipt.

All our cultivated and natural lands are held in trust for future generations and each Tribute Gift helps preserve this living legacy.

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Ways to Give

Tribute and Memorial Donations
Donations of any denomination can be made to honour or in memory of an event, individual or family.

Plant or Designate a Tree
Honour a loved one while helping to expand the tree collection at the Gardens. Each year our horticultural department develops a "wish list" of trees (below).

With a gift of $2500, you can select a tree from our list of available or planned acquisitions. A memorial or tribute plaque is placed on the tree or on a ground stake. Donors receive a tax receipt for $1800, a certificate providing full details of the tree and a location map as well as donor acknowledgement.

(Trees are planted in spring and fall. All newly planted trees have a five-year replacement guarantee. In the event of the tree dying after the five-year period, the memorial plaque is transferred to an existing mature tree that is mutually acceptable. Placement of trees is at the discretion of Royal Botanical Gardens. RBG reserves the right to transplant or remove any tree if it is in the interest of the tree, public safety or the development of the Gardens.)

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Benches
With a gift of $5000, you may designate one of our new benches within Hendrie Park Gardens. These beautiful backless stone benches line the Oak Allee and look out over the new Rose Garden pools. The bench will be personalized with a tribute plaque. Donors receive a tax receipt for $3500 and are provided with a certificate and map showing the location of the bench.



(Please note, at this time benches are not being placed in other garden areas or the natural lands. Royal Botanical Gardens reserves the right to relocate a bench as required. Benches are guarunteed for a period of 10 years after which time, they may be removed if it is in the interest of public safety or development of the Gardens.)

For more information regarding the tribute and memorial gift program, please call 905-527-1158, ext. 290 or email donations@rbg.ca.

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'Wish List' — planned and/or available trees
The following lists contain trees that are currently available for planting or designation to be placed in specific locations within our tree collections at the Arboretum, Hendrie Park and RBG Centre.

Arboretum
The following list contains trees to be placed in specific locations within our tree collections at the arboretum. Each individual specimen adds ornamental value to the collection.
• Acer saccharinum ‘Silver Pyramid’ (columnar silver maple)
Fast growing maple, very tolerant of tough conditions.
Silver underside of leaves shimmer in the wind.
• Aesculus x carnea ‘Fort McNair’ (horse chestnut)
Pink flowering chestnut loaded with upright pink panicles
in spring.
• Amelanchier x grandiflora ‘Robin Hill’ (serviceberry)
Excellent specimen tree with both spring blossom and autumn colour. Very hardy and tolerant to urban pollution.
• Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’ (European hornbeam)
Columnar hornbeam with a stiff upright habit. Very pest and disease resistant.
• Catalpa speciosa (western catalpa) Oval form with fragrant white flowers in June/July. Fast growing with heart shaped leaves.
• Eucommia ulmoides (hardy rubber tree)
Very drought tolerant and pest resistant species. Mature bark is ridged and furrowed with striking gray-brown colour.
• Malus baccata ‘Columnaris’ (columnar Siberian crab apple)
Columnar crab apple with blushed red fruit in late summer. Flowers pure white in spring.
• Picea abies ‘Cupressina’ (Norway spruce)
Needles slightly curved with a dark greenish-blue hue.
Very hardy. Colunmar habit enables this cultivar to bear the weight of heavy snow.
• Picea pungens ‘Iseli Fastigiate’ (Colorado spruce)
Great specimen tree with attractive blue needles. Very narrow form.
• Pinus nigra ‘Arnold Sentinel’ (Austrian pine)
Valuable specimen tree with strong upright habit. Very heat and drought resistant.
• Quercus x warei ‘Long’ (columnar oak)
Columnar oak, reaching 40' to 60' in height and 20' to 25' in spread. Very winter hardy.
• Sorbus x thuringiaca ‘Fastigiata’ (fastigiate oakleaf mountain ash)
Clusters of white flower followed by attractive red berries in winter. Attractive compound leaves turn red in fall.
• Zelkova serrata ‘Green Vase’ (Zelkova)
Very tolerant of urban conditions. Elegant vase shaped specimen.

Hendrie Park
• Acer campestre (hedge maple)
A low growing tree that performs well in urban conditions. Corky bark is very distinctive.
• Acer griseum (paperbark maple)
One of the most ornamental trees available. Cinnamon brown bark exfoliates much like birch bark. Bronze/red fall colour.
• Betula nigra (river birch)
A stately tree, noted for it upright, branching habit. Notable bark.
• Crataegus x mordenensis ‘Snowbird’ (hawthorn)
A small, hardy tree with attractive double flower clusters in spring. Serrated, lobed foliage.
• Koelreuteria paniculata (golden rain tree)
A small tree producing bright yellow flowering in early summer. Very heat and drought resistant.
• Parrotia persica (Perisan parrotia)
A small tree with rich green foliage turning yellow/orange/red in fall. Very drought and heat resistant.
• Pinus cembra (swiss stone pine)
Upright pine species with narrow columnar form.
• Sophora japonica ‘Regent’ (Japanese pagoda tree)
Loaded with pea-like white flowers in early summer. Excellent specimen with pinnate leaves.
• Sorbus americana (American mountain ash)
Compact tree with upright, oval habit. Attractive red fruit persists through winter, attracting birds.

RBG Centre
• Cornus florida ‘Rainbow’ (flowering dogwood)
Unique specimen planting with variegated foliage. Elegant spreading habit with nice fall colour.
• Styrax japonica ‘Rosea’ (Japanese snowbell)
White blooms hang below foliage in late May/early June. Highly ornamental fruits persist in late summer.
• Gleditsia triacanthos ‘Sunburst’ (honeylocust)
Thornless honeylocust with brilliant yellow leaves in spring. Very tolerant to pollution and drought.
• Cornus alternifolia (pagoda dogwood)
Flat clusters of fragrant, white flowers produced in late May/early June. Beautiful specimen planting with horizontal branching.
• Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
A native tree producing upright, tulip shaped blossoms in spring. Mature specimens can be very large.
• Viburnum plicatum ‘Lanarth’ (doublefile viburnum)
Large flowers produced on horizontal branches in early spring/summer. Striking autumn colour.
• Cercis canadensis ‘Alba’ (eastern redbud)
A native tree with heart shaped leaves. A specimen tree with showy pea-like white flowers in spring.

Download a Tribute and Memorial Program summary pdf.

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