History And Legend

Picking up where I left off yesterday, across the path from The Bird Tree was another new topiary. This one is Red Crowned Cranes, and depicts a trio of cranes native to Japan, China, the Korean peninsula, and parts of Siberia.

The next topiary along the path was one that was here last year as well. Jos Montferrand: A Giant From Gatineau pays tribute to a voyageur and lumberman of the 19th century whose life in the Ottawa Valley became that of legend, with tall tales building on his story. Joseph Montferrand was a French speaking strongman known to stand up for the little guy in working class neighbourhoods, carrying a reputation for feats of strength, most infamously routing a gang of 150 men on the bridge between what was then Hull and Ottawa. His story lives on in story and song. The topiary is appropriately much larger than life.

From this point along the path we get a different perspective of the CPR 374 topiary, where we began this series.

Along the topiary is another sculpture from last year, moved here from a different spot along the pathway. Odyssey And Hope is the work of British sculptor Heather Jansch, a sculpture of driftwood in the shape of a mare, Odyssey, and her colt, Hope. They are placed in a field of flowers.

The Voyageur is the next one. From the 17th century into the 19th century, the French speaking voyageurs travelled deep into the continent for the fur trade, which was dominated from the hub in Montreal. Voyageurs interacted with First Nations peoples and pushed into what for white people were unknown spaces. It was a hard life filled with perils, but one that left a huge legacy- explored landscapes and trading posts that would give rise to cities.

And up the path is this topiary. The Winning Goal, Summit of '72 shows the iconic moment in Canadian sports history in which the Summit Series between the Soviet and Canadian hockey teams, deemed the best two teams in the world, was decided by a winning goal in the eighth and final game of the series, a goal made by Paul Henderson of the Canadian squad. A photograph of that victorious moment forms the basis of this topiary.