A 1.5 acre garden tucked away near Deep Cove will be open to the public this Sunday, July 28 for a treasure hunt which will give participants a chance to explore the historical North Saanich gardens.
In the 1960s, Pheobe and Jack Noble bought the parcels of land on Wain Road with the goal of building what became the Noble Gardens.
According to Penny Gibbs, who stewards the garden today, Phoebe, who was an "extremely famous gardner" who helped spearhead the restoration of the Government House gardens and planted ornamental gardens, Jack started growing a fruit orchard and their daughter Sandra planted vegetables.
She said in garden's "heyday in the late 1980s and early 1990s," it was a destination for garden tours and even hosted an episode of "The Victorian Kitchen Garden" with Harry Dodson.
"When Jack died, and then Phoebe died, Sandra obviously became the sole operator of the garden," said Gibbs, who was a longtime friend of Sandra's who took over the garden after Sandra died in 2022.
"It's a lot of work I have many hands, light work volunteer sessions. I've had markets in the garden. We set up tents here and in the orchard and farm markets, and have vendors come in, many of them from the North Saanich farm market," she said.
Along with students of the Camosun College Horticulture Program and the Pacific Horticulture College, in partnership with the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, and a number of other volunteers, Gibbs has been working to restore and maintain the garden and working to ward off invasive plants.
"There are incredibly detailed records of everything they ever planted in this garden, both alphabetically and by bed and by year. So it's a great learning experience for horticulture students to come out and try and find it and recreate it because Sandra was not a big ornamental fan, she kept it up because her mother did it and she wanted to keep that legacy going," said Gibbs.
On Sunday, July 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the garden will be holding an all-ages treasure hunt with treasures and gift cards donated by a number of local businesses. Visitors will also be given a chance to peruse the gardens and set up a picnic blanket on the lawn and listen to the music.
Tickets for the treasure hunt are $15 for adults and $10 for kids, or $40 for a family of four. Tickets are available at the North Saanich Farm Market or by emailing thenoblegarden1@gmail.com. Tours and refreshments are by donation. Parking is available along the shoulder of Wain Road, and around the field at the foot of Wain Road and Madrona Drive.
