Many Mother's Day presents are given but precious few continue to have an impact 15 years later in the way that our namesake Dr. Peter's gift has for his mother, Shirley Young.
As Shirley recalls on that Mother's Day in 1990, "Peter gave me two good-size lilac bushes - one white and one mauve. He then spent the day helping us prepare the sites to plant them. Peter loved working in the garden and knew he would soon lose his vision entirely and wouldn't be able to see it."
Fast forward to 2003 and the opening of the new Dr. Peter Centre.
"Collette Parsons was the landscape architect for the centre," remembers Shirley. "I mentioned the lilac bushes to her and how I wished they could be transplanted on the grounds there. She came up with the idea for Ron Rollo from UBC Gardens and his associate to come and take cuttings from the bushes Peter had given me".
Today...
Thanks to the expertise of David Tarrant and the UBC Gardens , 10 healthy lilac bushes were generated from Peter's gift to his mother. As per Shirley's wish, two of the bushes will be planted at the centre on September 28th. One of the bushes will be auctioned at the centre's signature fundraising event, Passions II, on September 18th along with an amazing garden package.
