Canadians love and support plants and gardens, as reflected in the quantity and quality of public horticulture happening in Vancouver parks. Perhaps it's because so many people live in high rise condos like the one on English Bay (left) that has a tree growing ten stories up...
I was in Vancouver earlier this week, visiting my new friend Claude LeDoux, the Parks Horticulture Manager for New Westminster, for an upcoming story in the Seattle Times. His greenhouse operation, the variety of cool plants, the level of maintenance....all put Seattle to shame. We can't seem to care for the plants we already have in our parks, let alone create summer displays or grow anything too unusual....take a look at what's blooming in and around Stanley Park...
A pot on the outskirts of the park....
Impatiens edged in succulents
It's probably a good sign that the Parks Department building in Stanley Park is nearly buried in beautiful foliage, from Japanese maples to a lusty gunnera...
Not surprisingly, the nearby neighborhood shows the influence of so much good gardening in the parks - here's an extravagantly planted private garden in the West End near the park...
