A trip back to the VanDusen Botanical Garden

Another must see while in Vancouver, B.C. (in 2010), the VanDusen Botanical Garden. I remember being a little concerned that after touring through the gardens and nurseries of California in 2009 that our 2010 travels would be a let down. I didn't need to worry.

This doesn't look like fall in Canada does it?

Again this post was a double header, Part 1 here, Part 2 here. I hope you enjoy them both.

I've enjoyed looking back at my past travels and reminiscing a bit, as well as taking a bit of a blogging break. Back to regularly scheduled (new!) posts next week. Oh, and Happy New Year!

This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

A trip back to the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research

The fall of 2010 we spent a week in beautiful British Columbia, Vancouver B.C. to be exact. It's a city of tall buildings, rugged mountains and many gardens. We'd previously spent a Thanksgiving weekend there and were amazed to see people wandering around outdoors in shirtsleeves, not bundled up in the November cold. Someone explained to us that Vancouver was Canada's California. Where you go to enjoy the warmth.

During that September visit I was thrilled to see the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, as I tend to do I took a lot of photos and had to split my post in two. Here's Part 1, and Part 2.

Reading back through old posts in preparation for this week's "repeat" series I was struck by how much I've learned over the last few years, at times blushing a bit at all that I didn't know then (so just imagine how much I don't know now!). I've also found it interesting that I was drawn to the same plants again and again. This was probably the first time I'd seen Celmisia spectabilis, and even though it wasn't looking great I still had to take a photo. I then fell for a couple of celmisia all over again when I visited Mark & Gaz in London and then later at the Kew Gardens. At least my tastes are relatively consistent!

This image still makes me smile. The hillside so colorful and that odd metal sculpture just seems so out of place...

This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2015 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

A trip back to the The Gardens at Cornerstone

In 2012 I was able to make a quick run through The Gardens at Cornerstone. From their website: "Situated along the main gateway between Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley, The Gardens at Cornerstone Sonoma are a series of walk-through gardens showcasing new and innovative designs from the world's finest landscape architects and designers. When commissioned, these artists were given the freedom to create anything from traditional gardens to modern, conceptual installations. Each designer was provided a garden parcel of approximately 1,800 square feet, a few practical considerations and infinite opportunity."

I would have loved to have spent more time there, but a quick visit is better than no visit at all. My original post about the garden is here. In that post I mention their website being out of date, it looks to have been improved some over the last couple of years.

I toyed with the idea of returning this last September when we visited the Bay Area but decided to forgo the drive. Maybe next time.

I still think about those large agaves in the swaying grass...

This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

A trip back to the The Bloedel Reserve

The Bloedel Reserve was a stop on the 2011 Garden Bloggers Fling held in Seattle, WA. I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled at the idea of visiting, however the garden won me over with it's serene (green) vistas.

It was quintessentially Pacific Northwest, in more ways than one...

Want to see more? My original post on the visit is here.

I have a feeling I'm going to be saying this on every post this week (as I relive a few garden destinations) but I really do need to go back and spend some time here, soon...

This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

Vacation! A trip back to the Desert Botanical Garden

I’ve decided to do something I’ve never done before: take a week off! Crazy right? I know. However I can’t accept complete radio silence here on the blog, so instead each day this week I’m going to tempt you to visit a past post, one from my garden travels over the years. Today we start with a 2011 visit to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ. I took so many photos it’s a two part post: Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here.

Visits to this garden rank very high on my magical moments lists, it's a very special place.

With lots of amazing plants, like this Agave x ‘Dianita’ - honestly I can't believe it's been 3 years since I've been there. I must return soon!

Oh and I'm not really away on vacation (although I was last week, more on that soon) so if you have any comments or questions please, as always, feel free to talk to me!

This post is part of a week long series looking back at earlier garden visits and my posts on them. All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.