Wednesday, May 2, 2018

A Spring Walk Through The Garden

It has been my habit to feature the Landscapes Of Canada Gardens at least once each season, and since my last time was in the winter, I wanted to walk here in spring time, when things are just waking up. I got a chance to on the first warm weekend in the latter part of April. The Gardens are found on the west side of the property at the Canadian Museum of Nature, and opened in 2016. It features plants from four distinct ecosystems in Canada. Boreal Forest starts things off, with evergreen trees and small bushes planted along the pathway.


That includes this, creeping juniper, just waking up after a long winter.


Prairie Grasslands is the central section, with the Museum as a background. We shall see what summer does for the grasses as they start to grow.


Arctic Tundra is another section, with grasses and shrubs found in the Far North planted here. Glandular birch is one of those, and it was starting to show the first hints of spring buds.


The pathway leads through this art installation. Artist and inventor Bill Lishman created this iceberg sculpture out of steel.


There are paving stones on one section of the path; the names of those who have donated, or have donated in memory of another for the museum, are marked.


The path takes us on from here, with Prairie Grassland to the right, and one of the signs, marking the last section, the Mammoth Steppe, at the left.


A few steps back from the above shot gives us a view of the path. Note the dog walking its human.


A family of wooly mammoths are found here along the path in sculptural form. They were moved up this way from their original place, about where the iceberg sculpture is now, when the gardens were created.


I stopped inside the Museum to look in at the gift shop, and photographed one of the stained glass windows in the entrance before I left.

32 comments:

  1. This is one of my favorite areas of your city because one can get a greater sense of what Canada has to offer in this wonderful garden. Love that stained-glass, too!

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  2. Very interesting, love the elephant !!

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  3. Wooly Mamoths must have been awesome creatures - the complete skull of one was found near where I live 10 years ago, which caused great excitement. Was the Canadian Museum of Nature built as a museum or did it have a previous function?

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  4. Really looking forward to seeing the grasses grow.

    Janis
    GDP

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  5. ...green hasn't arrived get?

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  6. @Lowell: it's quite something to see.

    @Gattina: they're quite a family!

    @Rosemary: yes, it was built as a museum, initially to house this collection, but also what's become the Museum of History, now off in another spot. Parliament even met here for some years after the 1916 fire during the rebuilding of Centre Block.

    @Francisco: thanks!

    @Janis: it shouldn't take long.

    @Tom: not yet, but these shots were from a few days back.

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  7. There is nothing more hopeful than spring springing!

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  8. love the stain glass. you all need some green. looks so empty. ( ;

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  9. Very interesting. I look forward to seeing this again when everything turns green. The stained glass is amazing.

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  10. The landscape will change quickly in the next few weeks!

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  11. Good idea to look at plants before they wake up in the spring. Most photographers would miss this stage .

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  12. Isn't it nice to see it all waking up? I can't wait to see what this looks like in a few week or next month. I'm so glad spring has finally arrived to your world.

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  13. Early spring is not the best time for a walk and photos of the garden. It's more interesting in the rest of the year, I think

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  14. @Jennifer: that's true!

    @Beth: now that things are warming up, the green should be right behind.

    @Mildred: it's quite a different scene at other parts of the year.

    @RedPat: it doesn't take long.

    @Red: I think it's a good stage to document.

    @Jeanie: it was quite a long winter!

    @Jan: I thought about maybe doing it in a couple of weeks, but with the tulip festival starting up, that's going to occupy the better part of this month.

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  15. I bet that area will be very green in just a few more weeks.

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  16. Interesting tour, William, nature and art together.

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  17. I love iceberg sculpture! And stained glass windows are beautiful!

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  18. That is a beautiful building!

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  19. A beautiful building and grounds! Must be amazing in the summer!

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  20. A great walk. Will be fun to see the Summer photos later in the year.

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  21. We finally unwrapped the trees. Yay spring,

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  22. @Sharon: it doesn't take long.

    @Karl: I certainly like the combination.

    @Tamago: they are indeed.

    @Marleen: it really is.

    @Jenn: it is, yes.

    @Stefan: I'll probably have them in August.

    @Marie: spring took its time coming here.

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  23. Great tour,William. It look quite different in a matter of weeks.

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  24. Beautiful place ~ great nature photos and love the elephant sculptures!

    Happy Week to you ~
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  25. I'm betting this will look very different by summer. In the meantime, the sculptures are very nice.

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  26. The museum looks like a castle! Love the mammoths. :)

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  27. We've had a beautiful Spring day today ...
    Lovely to see your post, I do like the mammoths and the stained glass windows are just wonderful.

    All the best Jan

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  28. I always love seeing the Canadian Museum of Nature William, fabulous building!

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  29. Here, we skipped spring and went straight to summer.

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  30. @Bill: even a few days can make a difference.

    @Carol: thank you.

    @Kay: seasons change quickly in this place.

    @Sandi: it is quite a castle.

    @Jan: thank you.

    @Grace: I agree.

    @Klara: and it's late this year too.

    @Norma: today is cool but mercifully dry.

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