By Jim McCausland, Sunset senior garden writer

Last week I showed what turned out to be my favorite labyrinth at Earth Sanctuary on Whidbey Island, Washington. But I called it a maze. It turns out that a labyrinth has one way in and one way out, while a maze has multiple ways in and out, plus lots of dead-ends. So, since I got my labyrinth wrong, let me get my mazes right. Following are two favorites: one in Fairbanks, Alaska, and one in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The maze at Georgeson Botanical Garden in Fairbanks is a mostly completed work in progress. The following photograph shows it with three petals finished, but since that picture was made a fourth petal has been planted, and this summer the fifth petal is being completed, all with Siberian pea shrub (Caragana arborescens). Seven years in the making, this hedge maze is worth studying.

The evergreen maze at VanDusen Botanical Garden, pictured below, is made from a columnar form of American arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis ‘Fastigiata’). Lush and green, it must be among the most beautiful mazes in North America.

INFO: Georgeson Botanical Garden is at 117 W. Tanana Drive, Fairbanks. Open 9 to 8, admission $2. VanDusen Botanical Garden is at 5251 Oak St., Vancouver. Open 10 to 8, admission $8.50.