Back from Vacation

We're in the last stretch of summer and so it was time to take a vacation.  Although I love my island home, and even though it is a top tourist destination, a break from the ordinary is always a treat.  For us that meant a trip to the big city of Toronto with all the hustle and bustle that comes with it.  I have no interest to live in the city again but I do like to visit and take part, for a short time, all that it has to offer.  Which meant a different dinner location every night - Mexican, Hungarian, Indian, Japanese, French...  A tour of the world via my plate.  yum.  Followed by theatre, the art gallery and the Royal Ontario Museum.

The Crystal

This was my first chance to see the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal and from the outside I thought the look was quite impressive.  I have to admit though, from inside the museum, I wasn't as enthusiastic.  The angles produced made the museum layout awkward and I was disappointed at the lack of light and openness.  Regardless of the architecture the museum offered many impressive displays and we spent a lot of time in the European Evolution of Style exhibit.  At antique shops and auctions I have often heard of these funny shelves referred to as 'whatnots'.

I thought this was just a cute term for something that didn't otherwise have a name.   I was wrong.

"WhatNot - Standing sets of shelves for displaying ornaments and
souvenirs first appeared in the early 1800's."

We also spent a lot of time simply wandering the streets, admiring shop windows and buildings.  I particularly loved this impressive glass ceiling built over the street between two old buildings.

In addition I also found myself eyeing up homes in Toronto.  So many houses are made of brick in Ontario, a material not used much here in PEI, and it always attracts my attention.

And because I can't help myself, I eyed up all the gardens in the front yards.  So many people made such great use of the space available.  I was impressed at every turn.

Accommodating both a walkway and a driveway but there's still room for flowers!

Public spaces too showed off many wonderful garden ideas.

I particularly liked this raised seating area with just enough space left between the stones to create planting spots.  I imagine the plants will eventually grow large enough to provide screening between seating areas.

Wandering through a park in the city we came across a tree that instantly caught my attention.  I liked the small leaves and their fine appearance.

I have been contemplating for some time the idea of planting Honey Locust trees on our property. Although I have never seen one in person I liked the description of an open tree that allows plenty of light to stream though to plants underneath.  Imagine my surprise then when I saw a plaque on this tree identifying it as Gleditsia triacanthos or Honey Locust.  What a pleasant surprise to be able to view a mature tree.  It is as lovely as I had thought.

But I am still unsure about planting it.  These trees tend to grow rapidly and reproduce via suckers which can be troublesome to a degree.  However, we do have a large property and having wood for harvest in the future would be a positive aspect.  Another issue is that while the tree is native to Ontario it is not native in PEI.  I'm not against having exotic species but trees take so long to grow and take up so much space that having a native plant that will provide for insects and wildlife over the course of many years seems to make more sense.  I will have to think about this for a while yet.  Has anyone else planted Honey Locust in their yards?  What is your experience?