Autumn In The Landscapes Of Canada

 Each season I come by the grounds of the Canadian Museum of Nature, where on the west side of the property, one finds the Landscapes Of Canada Gardens. Here, four distinct ecosystems are found together, with plants, trees, shrubs, and grasses from each area. We start off with Boreal Forest, which covers a vast part of the country, with its evergreen and other trees, and hardy plants.

This is a larch. They look like an evergreen, but in late fall, these needle-like leaves turn gold and drop.

Prairie Grassland is the next ecosystem. The grasses, flowers, and shrubs of that part of the country are transplanted here and grow rapidly over the summer.

An iceberg sculpture in steel stands over the path. This was done by the late Canadian inventor and artist Bill Lishman.

Seen from the west edge of the property, this includes plants and grasses of the third ecosystem represented here- Arctic Tundra.

The last ecosystem is gathered around the north side of the path, and particularly a set of sculptures, seen here along the path. This is Mammoth Steppe, with plants and flowers of the era of the Ice Age that still grow today. They surround a family of mammoths. In the distance, in the Queens Lantern, a model of the Moon can be seen.