GARDEN STROLLS

The final stop on our Alaska cruise was at Butchart Gardens in Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It was a fantastic day, and of course there were gazillions of people who came out to enjoy the gardens in bloom.

It isn’t unusual to see Orcas (killer whales) on the boat ride to Victoria. This is a shot of an adult with a calf.


Butchart Gardens is a boat or plane ride away from Seattle, costs a few sheckles, but worth a visit.

http://www.butchartgardens.com/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

Another fantastic garden to visit, and touted as the best Japanese-style garden in the Seattle area, is the Kubota Gardens in Renton. There is no fee, but donations are welcome, for this oasis away from the city.

http://www.kubota.org/



How about a bonsai garden visit? Also free (donation welcome) is the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection in Federal Way on the Weyerhaeuser Company campus. The Rhododendron Species Foundation and Botanical Garden is also there, entry for a small fee. When the rhodies are in bloom, there is no better place to be.

http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/Company/Bonsai
http://www.rhodygarden.org/

If you’re into roses, you absolutely must see the Rose Gardens in Portland, Oregon. Both Washington Park’s International Rose Test Garden and the Peninsula Park Rose Garden.

International Rose Test Garden:

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=1113

Peninsula Park Rose Garden:

http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/finder/index.cfm?action=ViewPark&PropertyID=507

And now, my gardens are calling to me to do a little late-summer, early-autumn cleanup and weeding, because for some reason weeds tend to grow best here!

~Aerie-el