At the end of our tour through the Canadian Rocky Mountains we visited the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island. These world famous gardens are known to many Australian ikebana friends and keen gardeners, who have always recommended a visit to them. For us it was an extra early start to the day as we had our breakfast in the conservatory there.
Laurie is sitting with some friends from Warrnambool and Perth.
The gardens began as a project, to create a sunken garden in a disused quarry, by the quarry owner’s wife. It has since grown to an internationally famous garden many times its original size. The next four photos are of the original sunken garden.
The gardens were progressively extended with the addition of gardens in various styles. There is a great emphasis on floral display including...
...and rubbish bins.
In the dahlia bed...
...these dahlias caught my eye because of their huge size, colour and patterning.
After all the exuberance I found the Japanese Garden very restful with its moss covering, running streams and endless-seeming shades of green (and subtle red).
At the bottom of the garden was a small window through the hedge revealing an arm of the Saanich Inlet.
This week's ikebana substitute photo was taken in a forest hike we took along the East Fork of the Skagway River in Alaska, lots of cool fresh air and soft moss underfoot. The connections in the photo with ikebana are the botanical materials provided by nature, and the elements of asymmetry, line, mass and space.
Greetings from Christopher
23rd September 2018
...over-flowing window boxes...
...and rubbish bins.
In the dahlia bed...
...these dahlias caught my eye because of their huge size, colour and patterning.
After all the exuberance I found the Japanese Garden very restful with its moss covering, running streams and endless-seeming shades of green (and subtle red).
At the bottom of the garden was a small window through the hedge revealing an arm of the Saanich Inlet.
This week's ikebana substitute photo was taken in a forest hike we took along the East Fork of the Skagway River in Alaska, lots of cool fresh air and soft moss underfoot. The connections in the photo with ikebana are the botanical materials provided by nature, and the elements of asymmetry, line, mass and space.
Greetings from Christopher
23rd September 2018
Thank you for sharing all the lovely photos you posted of your interesting Canadian trip, I really enjoyed them. I have been to the Butchart Gardens in the past but at a different time of the year so it was interesting to see your photos and reminisce.
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