Thursday, February 10, 2022

The Winter Garden

 Each season I photograph the Landscapes Of Canada Gardens. This is set on the west side of the property at the Canadian Museum of Nature. Four distinctive ecosystems from across the country are presented, with plants, flowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees from each planted. This time of year much of it is buried in the snow. I approached from the southwest to take in this first view.


Boreal Forest is the first, and the vegetation in this area comes from that ecosystem covering a vast swath of the country.


The bare trees seen here are tamaracks- trees that look like coniferous trees, but shed their needle-like leaves when they turn golden late in the fall. I missed seeing that when I paid my autumn visit.


Some of the next ecosystem: Prairie Grassland, with the long grasses and flowers buried under the snow, waiting on spring.


The path goes beneath the sculpture of an iceberg, done by the late Canadian artist and inventor Bill Lishman.


This is the view from the west edge of the property. The third ecosystem, Arctic Tundra, has much of its plantings buried under the snow, along with most of the rocks that are placed here. During the growing season, the plants from the far north do quite well here.


Signage here and there along the path goes into detail about the ecosystem, or identifies specific plants, grasses, or flowers.


The path continues.


This portion of the Prairie Grassland caught my eye.


The last of the ecosystems represented here is Mammoth Steppe, with vegetation from the time of those animals that still grows today. It's almost all buried in the snow.


A family of three mammoths stands here along the end of the path. In the background, in the Queens Lantern, hangs a model of the Moon.


36 comments:

  1. I like the iceberg sculpture and the mammoths.

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  2. Love the mammoth family. What wonderful winter photos William. Very atmospheric.

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  3. The Mammoth family is almost tender...

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  4. Love the winter garden, sculpture and the Mammonths.

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  5. Belas fotografias onde se faz sentir o Inverno.
    Um abraço e continuação de uma boa semana.

    Andarilhar
    Dedais de Francisco e Idalisa
    O prazer dos livros

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  6. Even in this grey winter weather it looks nice ! the poor mammoths family must be freezing in the snow !

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  7. @Amy: me too.

    @Fun60: thanks.

    @Gemel: that they are.

    @Italiafinlandia: I agree.

    @Nancy: it's a good spot to visit.

    @Jan: it certainly is.

    @Francisco: thanks.

    @Gattina: the real ones did quite well in snowy conditions.

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  8. Wonderful views, William. I was in Orléans this past weekend and we did not even try to go downtown as you will understand. It set me to wondering how you are coping with the madness there and whether you are able to get a record of it?

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  9. ...the gardens are taking a nap!

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  10. Hello,
    Wonderful views of the gardens. I love the sculptures.
    Take care, enjoy your day!

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  11. I always know where you are when I see the Iceberg.

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  12. The architecture in your city just amazes me. I suppose it was built by the French? Love the welcome mammoths too.

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  13. The other seasons can’t help but be better.

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  14. The Museum of Nature architecture is a favorite! I like the oak tree with leaves adding color to the landscape. Nice photographs

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  15. Winter is dominating the look right now.

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  16. @David: it's very stressful. I wrote about it in my writer's blog on Monday. If I follow up on it, it'll be there.

    @Tom: and a long one.

    @Eileen: thank you.

    @Marie: it's a distinctive sculpture.

    @Sandi: Ottawa dates back to 1826. It's English, but there are French influences since Quebec is on the other side of the river. Plus as a government city, all signage here is in both languages. The museum itself is a bit over a century old.

    @anvilcloud: I love winter.

    @Maywyn: thank you.

    @Sharon: very much so.

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  17. The gardens work well in all the seasons.

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  18. I get a kick out of the museum's roofline having the castle-like look to it. Our Smithsonian does much the same thing. I wonder why those architects back in the times those museums were being built would have done that! Natural history doesn't exactly need to hark back to the middle ages, in my mind.

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  19. It's nice to see the garden in the winter and the mammoths too.

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  20. It's a grey day in your pictures like it is now in Toronto, but the museum stands out brilliantly. Can't wait to see how it looks in the spring with all the colours.

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  21. Me gusta ese gran edificio, por su buena arquitectura y la belleza de ese paisaje helado.

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  22. @RedPat: I think so.

    @Barbara: the Museum has different kinds of architecture, but nature is reflected in the stained glass and the carvings of animals on the exterior walls.

    @Bill: thank you.

    @Eden: time will tell.

    @Ventana: thanks.

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  23. A beautiful place for a winter walk.

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  24. It all looks like NE Ohio. I know we had mammoth pachyderms, once.

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  25. What a kalaidoscope of beauty during all seasons it must be

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  26. Would be a treat to walk around in spring!

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  27. Dynamic winter photos ~ love seeing the Elephants again ~

    Wishing you lots of love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  28. A lovely collection of winter photographs, especially the mammoths.

    All the best Jan

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