Canada ... Vancouver
Took a bus to Van Dusen Botanic Gardens. This was built on the site of potential development when local opposition meant that the planned housing was not able to get approval and the 55 acre site was developed as a botanic garden. Really great garden ... lots of water .. streams, ponds sculpture and a waterfall. Because of small hills and clever design, the garden has 'hidden' features (the Fern Garden, for example) which makes the place interesting. My favourites .. a camellia whose fallen petals created a carpet below the tree ; a strange tree which spreads over the ground with thick branches which spread horizontally rather than vertically.
Photo Gallery
The slide show should appear in the adjacent window, but if it doesn't here is a link to it on the Picasa Website.
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Dr Sun Yat Sen Garden
To my mind, this is the only interesting feature in Vancouver's Chinatown. It is a gem and the enclosing wall gives it a sense of being special.
For me the highlight was a peony plant with a rich red colour flower. A curiosity was a wisteria tree (I'd only seen it as a 'vine' along walls).
For me the highlight was a peony plant with a rich red colour flower. A curiosity was a wisteria tree (I'd only seen it as a 'vine' along walls).
Canada ... Victoria ... Buchart Gardens
Public bus (just 2 blocks from hotel) goes directly to Butchart Gardens for $2.25 (it is a regular public bus which goes beyond the gardens). $26 entry and they have over a million visitors a year, so this is a thriving business. I was somewhat sceptical (what's new?) because it all seemed so tidy and managed (over-managed) judging from the map and description. It certainly is that and overall I rate the place about 7 out of 10. Having said that, the Sunken Gardens (built in the quarry which the Butchart family excavated to make cement at their nearby cement factory) gets 10 out of 10. The overall effect is really impressive ; you enter at the top of a sharp cliff which overlooks the whole garden and most of it is devoted to trees and plants (from memory, little lawn or grass). As you go down into the garden, there are lots of features of interest and at any one time, several options of which path to take. That also helps the traffic flow because there certainly were a lot of people there (it being a Saturday). At the end of the garden in a lower area has a lake with display fountains. I couldn't figure out the timing of the blooms (the blooming timing) because the rhododendrons were looking a bit tired but the cherry trees were at their peak.
After the Sunken Garden the rest of the gardens seemed a bit ordinary or in the case of the Japanese Garden, disappointing. Also, there were kitsch bronze statures dotted around the place (the contribution of one of the grandson owners who brought them from Italy). It seems clear that Mrs Butchard who started the garden from a raw quarry had great vision but the modern touches are in poor taste and the whole place looks destined to become a 'theme park' .. a large carousel for children is being built and will open later this year.
I was lucky that the Tibetan Blue Poppy which Mrs Butchart lover was in bloom ; it really is a lovely flower. I enjoyed the huge Lily of Valley tree with its flame coloured tips .. I have bought this as a house plant but had no idea they could grow to such a size.
After the Sunken Garden the rest of the gardens seemed a bit ordinary or in the case of the Japanese Garden, disappointing. Also, there were kitsch bronze statures dotted around the place (the contribution of one of the grandson owners who brought them from Italy). It seems clear that Mrs Butchard who started the garden from a raw quarry had great vision but the modern touches are in poor taste and the whole place looks destined to become a 'theme park' .. a large carousel for children is being built and will open later this year.
I was lucky that the Tibetan Blue Poppy which Mrs Butchart lover was in bloom ; it really is a lovely flower. I enjoyed the huge Lily of Valley tree with its flame coloured tips .. I have bought this as a house plant but had no idea they could grow to such a size.
Photo Gallery
The slide show should appear in the adjacent window, but if it doesn't here is a link to it on the Picasa Website.
Click here
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Victoria ... Royal British Columbia Museum
The Royal British Columbia Museum is near the Inner Harbour, just across the street from the Empress Hotel. It is connected with an IMAX Theatre which is operated by the ubiquitous National Geographic. Combined ticket possible .. $26 for museum alone ($18 for Senior). The Politically Correct word here for Native American Indians seems to be First Peoples. The best part of the museum (3rd floor) deals with their history, near extinction (smallpox and measles), suppression under British Indian Acts and the eventual recognition of their rights under more modern legislation. Their ancient history is a mystery but the period from the arrival of White Men is well documented through journals and photographs.
The museum is well designed and set out on several levels. Lots of artefacts are on display and each tribe had distinctive skills and crafts so there is a lot of variety ; I particularly liked the masks and the ancient stones used as anchors or their boats (and fishing lines).
Their is a reconstruction of a Victorian town with shops, offices hotel and cinema. The small cinema was showing a documentary of prospectors going through Chillkot Pass (where I took the train journey at Skagway). I stopped to watch that and it morphed into a fascinating film with Charlie Chaplin as a prospector .. he is young in the film and the whole thing was captivating .. in one hilarious scene, they have no food so he is cooking one of his shoes and he goes through quite a ritual to carve it, taste it and then appear to really enjoy his meal .. even licking the nails as if they were bones.
The museum is well designed and set out on several levels. Lots of artefacts are on display and each tribe had distinctive skills and crafts so there is a lot of variety ; I particularly liked the masks and the ancient stones used as anchors or their boats (and fishing lines).
Their is a reconstruction of a Victorian town with shops, offices hotel and cinema. The small cinema was showing a documentary of prospectors going through Chillkot Pass (where I took the train journey at Skagway). I stopped to watch that and it morphed into a fascinating film with Charlie Chaplin as a prospector .. he is young in the film and the whole thing was captivating .. in one hilarious scene, they have no food so he is cooking one of his shoes and he goes through quite a ritual to carve it, taste it and then appear to really enjoy his meal .. even licking the nails as if they were bones.
Photo Gallery
The slide show should appear in the adjacent window, but if it doesn't here is a link to it on the Picasa Website.
Click here
Click here
The fine print
Date of travel May 2009