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In the height of July summer, sunflowers bloomed toward the sun at the Tzu Chi Great Love Garden in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. A sea of golden petals swayed in the breeze beneath the blue sky, mirroring the quiet dedication of Tzu Chi volunteers who have tended this land year after year.
From July 21 to August 9, 2026, the Tzu Chi Foundation Canada held its annual Sunflower Season at the Tzu Chi Great Love Garden. Centered on the theme “Facing the Sun, Growing Together for Good,” the event invited community members to visit the garden. Beyond admiring the blossoms, volunteers hoped that a garden, a flower, a cup of tea, and a heartfelt greeting would introduce more people to Tzu Chi and weave a web of goodwill across the community.
Entering the Garden: Connecting Community Through Public Service
Tzu Chi volunteers in Greater Vancouver have been cultivating the Tzu Chi Great Love Garden for six years now. What began as planting vegetables and fruits—which were donated to food banks or sold at charity bazaars—gradually expanded to include fruit trees and seasonal flowers. Caring for the earth with their own hands, volunteers have step by step imbued the garden with a spirit of humanistic culture and philanthropy. The garden is not merely a plot of land for growing crops; it has become a “field of blessings” where seeds of goodness are sown.
This year marked the fifth annual sunflower bloom at the garden. To bring forth this sea of summer gold, volunteers began germinating seedlings in greenhouses as early as April, before the tulip season had even drawn to a close. In May, the young shoots were transplanted into the fields. Starting from tiny seeds, through nurturing, planting, watering, weeding, and attentive care, more than ten thousand sunflowers ultimately burst into bloom.
Behind those ten thousand flowers were countless pairs of hands bent in labor, and countless hearts devoted to giving.
A three-week floral festival requires the collective effort of many. Before opening day, volunteers spruced up the grounds, cleaned the windmills, planned parking routes, set up the venue, and designed a large sunflower-themed photo backdrop. Function teams—handling reception, ticketing, traffic control, guided tours, and cut flowers—underwent advance training so that every visitor would experience the warmth and care of Tzu Chi volunteers.
Throughout the festival, volunteers from various districts across Greater Vancouver took turns on duty, exemplifying the spirit of “diverse areas, undivided hearts” by seamlessly stepping in to support one another. Some offered warm greetings at the entrance, some directed traffic, some maintained the grounds, some cut and wrapped bouquets, while others led tours to share Tzu Chi’s story. Still others quietly bent over weeding or pushed wheelbarrows to groom the soil, forming another moving scene alongside the sea of blooms. From the initial setup to the final breakdown, every step bore the imprint of the volunteers’ harmonious cooperation.
A Single Sunflower Opens a Door to the Community
Starting July 21, visitors arrived in steady numbers. There were multi-generational families, groups of friends meeting up, and photography lovers visiting specifically to capture the scenic views.
Upon entering, guests were greeted by an orderly traffic control team and a warm reception crew guiding them inside. The sunflower photo area quickly became a favorite spot, preserving countless smiling faces amid the ocean of gold.
Tour guides seized every opportunity to lead guests through the garden and share Tzu Chi’s mission. From charity and environmental protection to humanistic culture, from a modest plot of land to a single thought of kindness, visitors who had initially come “just to see the flowers” were introduced to the deeper work of Tzu Chi.
Thus, a single sunflower served as a key that unlocked connections of goodwill.
The head of division from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver, alongside several co-chairs and members of the Greater Vancouver Taiwanese Canadian Associations, also visited the garden. Guided by Chief Executive Officer Mac Miao, they learned about how the garden integrates environmental protection, education, and community service, while taking in the natural beauty woven by seasonal produce, blooming flowers, and more than 600 ginkgo trees.
Co-Chair Tsung-Chin Huang shared: “Tzu Chi’s loving care reaches every corner of the world without distinction of ethnicity or religion. It is truly moving!” She warmly encouraged everyone to visit the Tzu Chi Great Love Garden and experience this goodness and beauty firsthand.
From Visiting to Participating: Seeds of Goodwill Gently Sprout
The floral festival also served as a bridge connecting Tzu Chi with local seniors.
Twelve seniors from Wisteria Place, an independent living community in Richmond, visited the garden and thoroughly enjoyed its natural surroundings. Living not far away, they remarked before departing: “We hope we can come back again soon.”
Another group of fifteen seniors from the Marpole-Oakridge Community Centre in Vancouver also visited. In addition to praising the garden’s beauty and expressing gratitude for the volunteers’ ongoing dedication, several expressed a desire to join the volunteer ranks in the future.
Moving from “coming to look” to “wanting to help” is precisely how a seed of goodness begins to sprout.
On weekends, the garden echoed with children’s laughter as families enjoyed quality time together. The “Summer Family Craft Workshop” allowed parents and children to craft together amid the blossoms, while the “Sunflower Creative Coloring” activity—featuring outlines designed by the Tzu Chi Collegiate Youth Association (Tzu Ching)—let children color the garden of their imagination.
Emily Yuan, an art instructor, brought her students to sketch on-site. Sitting beside the flowers, the children captured the sunflowers before them with their paintbrushes. The following week, she returned with even more students. In this way, a field of flowers became a classroom without walls.
Children connected with the land and observed nature, while adults, accompanying their children, rediscovered simple and genuine happiness in everyday life.
A Cup of Tea, a Touch of Humanistic Culture
Volunteers welcomed guests with Jing Si Tea Ceremony. With a cup of pure tea and a spirit of sincere respect, the serving and savoring of tea invited visitors to slow their pace, allowing Tzu Chi’s humanistic culture to naturally enrich their conversations.
Jing-Ji Jiang, a student in the tea art experiential class, came to assist during the festival. He shared that being at the sunflower festival gave him a sense of “warm and radiant” strength. Sunflowers always grow toward the light, as if reminding people that even when life presents hardships, one should stay positive, optimistic, and strive to find their own sunshine. This reflection echoed the festival’s theme: “Facing the Sun.”
The daughter of volunteers Xue-Fen Zhang and Zhao-Ping Zhang often joins her parents at the garden to weed and water. This time, in addition to lending a hand, she brought handmade sunflower accessories crafted by the creative arts team to sell for charity at her school, turning the beauty she experienced at the garden into tangible acts of compassion.
Doing good knows no age limit. When children witness their parents giving, they, too, are inspired to give in their own way, ensuring that seeds of goodness are passed down from generation to generation.
During the festival, volunteer musicians Kenny and Andy brought their saxophones to the garden, serenading visitors with melodious tunes. Kenny’s wife, Sharon, also invited several friends to visit. Together, they enjoyed the flowers while dedicating their time, artistic talents, and donations to support the garden—turning their music into an offering of generosity and letting every note convey goodwill.
A Single Visit Reignites a Boundless Connection
Another joyful encounter during the festival came from Ivan.
Ivan was previously a Tzu Chi volunteer specializing in humanistic culture and documentation in Tzu Chi KL&Selangor Branch of Malaysia, and has been in Canada for four years. Having left his contact information during a past event, volunteers kept in touch rather than letting that connection fade, inviting him once again to the sunflower season.
Through his interactions with volunteers, that familiar warmth of Tzu Chi was reignited. Ivan subsequently registered for the volunteer development camp in September.
A floral festival rekindled a cross-border bond with Tzu Chi—truly one of the Great Love Garden’s most precious harvests.
Flowers Have Their Seasons, but Goodness Knows None
The three-week festival eventually came to an end, and like all blooms, the sunflowers will fade. From germinating seeds in April, planting in May, and weeding in June, to welcoming guests in July and cleaning the grounds afterward, volunteers dedicated months of labor to create a few brief weeks of splendor.
Some came to view the blossoms, some to sketch; some were introduced to Tzu Chi for the first time, while others felt moved to become volunteers; some gave their time, some shared their talents, and parents taught their children the value of giving.
A single flower connects a family; a garden unites a community; a single thought of kindness inspires many more.
Just as sunflowers continuously turn toward the sun, Tzu Chi volunteers hold firmly to the same resolve, sowing seeds of goodness throughout the community. Seasons on the land come and go, but as long as there are those willing to tend the soil of the heart, the seeds of kindness will sprout year after year, blooming everywhere.