The Element of Surprise

Well, my friends, you asked for more Spring flowers and who am I to disappoint?

One of the things that is most exciting for me now is that I am constantly in a state of wonder. You know, the kind most folks had before Google changed all of that. Now, most information is but a Google search away, however, there are some things only a human can tell you from experience. Plus where's the fun in staring at a screen all of the time?

On my way to deliver the quilt, I stopped first at some small gardens under the Burrard Street bridge which boast signs saying someone in the community is caring for this patch of ground. As I made my way, up some stairs and along a beaten path towards the steps leading to the bridge, I came across some folks gardening. Try as I might, I cannot remember the woman's name, but the man's name is Dale, both of whom have been calling this garden their own for the last 11 years.

What an interesting pair they are, and I was thrilled that they were able to answer some of my questions, however, when asked how long daffodil blooms last, they were stymied, probably because they haven't ever thought about it before. We had a good long chat about all of the plants I've been seeing and they were kind enough to tell me about more that will be coming into bloom in the next few months, including this tree to be found in a park about two blocks from us!! These two met by accident but have become gardening buddies, spending most mornings there, that is of course unless the rain is too much. Like today for example. :)

Continuing along Burrard towards the church, oh my goodness, these little cuties were almost more than I could take. Like little button flowers!

In front of a hotel along Burrard, there are these beauties.

Daffodils like mad everywhere!

After the quilt was dropped off, I continued walking towards Canada Place where they tourist information office is located. Actually across the street, but that is just a bit of nit picking on my part. My mission was a new map for Bruce as ours were growing weary. That secured, I headed to Stanley Park to check on what was new. Seriously, one has to be looking daily, otherwise what will one have missed?

For the macaron lovers amongst you, how about this darling shop? Could it be one bit cuter? I think not. Personally, I can take them or leave them, in this instance, it was the later.

Continuing our water feature search, this one is really quite something.

I suspect by the time we return to Orlando, you will feel as if you know Vancouver like the back of your hand. What do you think? Along West Georgia, the closer you get to the park,  there are some big money, even by Vancouver standards, condos.

Oh, dear ones, as I got to the flower gardens, I was in for a treat, and yes, there were flowers that I had not seen during my last visit.

Whereas Bruce is more of a red flower person (as much as you can call him a flower person), I can hardly think of a greater combination of colors than yellow and purple. Such fantastic contrast and isn't that what is most pleasing to the eye? The whole bed of hyacinths, pictured below, emerged since last I visited. Don't you just love that tree behind the bed? I mean really.

What I've recently discovered, looking through old photographs, is that my visit to Stanley Park was on April 7, 2015. What those photos showed me are beds filled with hundreds of tulips, some of them on their way down, thus my urgency! Drat, I forgot to ask the gardeners how long tulips last!

I spoke with one of the SP gardeners about those tiny little, what I'm calling button flowers, as well as asked him if there were any more beds to see. Turns out they do plant another area, so I made my way there. What some might find interesting is that there are a lot of women working in landscaping, from my experience, fairly uncommon in Orlando. I had a nice chat with the woman raking during which time she identified the tiny flowers as an English Daisy, something that Tom and his Mum undoubtedly already know. Another topic of our conversation was the intelligence of crows. Apparently, they watch closely while planting is going on, oftentimes swooping in and immediately uproot the new plantings while looking for worms. Yikes!

Alright, so I did not find the hummingbird nest on my own, but I was lucky enough to get a couple of photos of the hummingbird and offspring. Takes some searching to find it.

Seriously, it was so tiny, however, coming across three men with gigantic lenses, I knew something was up. No pun intended!

Up indeed. Before long, the leaves will return, obscuring the view of the fifty or so heron nests to be found.

According to this amusing article, depending on your sense of humor, I seriously miscounted the number of nests.

Looking down most streets in the West End, you see something similar.

I watched while these beds were planted and it's good to see how they are coming along.

Walking home along the seawall, I came across work being done on said seawall while the tide is  way out.

That's something else I've never given much thought to...tides. See what I mean, something new to learn about daily!

Are you tired of flowers yet? I sure hope not because I've got a few more to show you, including my first pink tulip sighting,

as well as a fantastic collection of potted flowers.

I don't know what the difference is from what I'm accustomed too, maybe nothing, but I'm just crazy about those roses! Although maybe not as crazy as I am for the Cherry trees which every day get a little bit prettier. As do the Magnolias!

Could this have been the inspiration for the term, "pretty in pink?"

There are indeed, gobs of flowers I am unfamiliar with, however, it may just be the trees that most intrigue me, wondering what they will look like with leaves again.

Ahh....these are exciting times for me. The sweetness of the element of surprise--what will I see next?

yours truly,

Gail

p.s. I've been meaning to say for a while now that one of the few people I've met to chat with is this nice lady who is pretty on both the outside and inside.

p.p.s. I have become increasingly alarmed over the whole Facebook scandal, as I'm sure many of you are as well. Which brings me to something I've been pondering. Should I delete my account, or maybe I should say before I do, I will figure out a way to alert you to new blog posts. We may just have to go back to the old fashioned way--an email alert. For now, I'm not sure how to do that, but may I suggest you stay tuned for an update.