All this snow reminds me of last winter. We had similar cold temperatures and heaps of snow back in 2014. But last winter I grew tired of the 6 foot snow drifts and packed up my bathing suit and headed west, back home to Vancouver, British Columbia. Vancouver is a beautiful city at any time of year but it never looked lovelier to my eyes than it did last April.
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| Vancouver city skyline |
While PEI was still being ravaged by winter storms I flew to a spring paradise on the west coast of Canada. Vancouver is garden zone 8 and their spring was a good month or two ahead of ours.
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| Palm trees are quite at home in suburban front yards |
While my yard was still covered in snow, Vancouver was
in bloom. Cherry trees and magnolias greeted me each day and I was
beyond ecstatic to be able to walk around without a parka. For two weeks Jody and I walked everywhere, taking in all the old haunts that we used to frequent when we lived here. Stanley Park was one of our stops. It's a major tourist attraction and a beloved park to locals. The park is 1001 acres in total and contains a seawall, trails, swimming
pool, restaurants, tennis courts, beaches and the Vancouver Aquarium.
My favourite part is Lost Lagoon.
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| Turtles basking in the sun (Lost Lagoon) |
We used to live close to the park and
searching for turtles in the lake was a favourite past time. We also spent a lot of time walking the many beaches Vancouver has to
offer. You can literally walk for hours along the waterfront and when
the sun is out the views are spectacular.
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| Cherry trees in full bloom |
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| Gorgeous walks along the seawall |
Of course there was no shortage of plants to
look at.
Everywhere you looked there was plants and flowers to admire. I was particularly taken with the community gardens I saw. This garden on an abandoned railway has been there for years but I always enjoy visiting.
This is a perfect little hideaway
from the street where people gather to dig, plant and socialize. Plus it features this great sign.
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| "You know all the things you've always wanted to do, you should go do them -xxx" |
A new garden I noticed in a very prominent spot was the Davie Village
Community Garden.
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| What used to be a gas station is now green |
I love love love that this garden is right smack dab on prime real
estate in the city core. Who needs another office building? Hundreds of people are walking by daily and seeing fresh food being grown.
It’s insanely refreshing to see something green growing in the
concrete jungle and Davie is just the community to pull this off. Whoever made this happen I applaud you.
Looking at all these old photos makes me think of taking a trip again. Winters are long in PEI and I'm dreaming of green daily now. How long is it until spring arrives?
