Colours On The Gatineau Shore

On Victoria Day, as mentioned in yesterday's post, I got a lot of walking in, including an excursion across the Ottawa River into Gatineau. There are tulip beds to be found here, especially at the Canadian Museum of History, with beds near both the exhibition and curatorial wings.

The space between the two wings offers a splendid view back across the river to Ottawa, with the Chateau Laurier and Parliament Hill visible over there. The museum's fountain was back up and running for the season since my last visit.

Here we have a tulip bed with the curatorial wing in the background. First Nations architect Douglas Cardinal designed this museum, and its grand curves reflect his indigenous heritage. It is a masterpiece of architecture.

Heading east, this is the other side of the curatorial wing, with tulips in the flowerbeds before it.

More proof of squirrels being gardeners- this tulip was one of several growing in the bushes behind the formal beds.

I crossed over towards the main entrance of Jacques Cartier Park, having had decided to take the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge back to Ottawa. These tulips were lining the entrance.

Another item at this entrance is a larger than life statue of the great Montreal hockey player Maurice "Rocket" Richard.

Here we have a view of the tulips in the park itself, with views of the Alexandra Bridge and the Ottawa skyline. You might notice structures here in the park. MosaiCanada was held here last year, and it seems the topiary exhibit is going to be back on again this year. This portion of the park was fenced off, with people at work on the grounds for that purpose.

My path took me past more tulips.

And I finish with a touch of the future- many of you will remember the Mother Earth topiary that was the highlight of MosaiCanada. This is how she looks as a work in progress. Workers were using a lift for some tasks on the topiary as I passed by. I shall have to get over here when the event gets underway.