A Personal Amateur Photography Blog
So far 2022 monsoon season has been very good, with plentiful afternoon thunderstorms, and sunshine each morning.
As a result the desert blooms are doing great. This is shown from a recent visit to Tohono Chul Botanical Gardens (along with one in front of the Ignite Sign Museum).
Part 2 of the visit to the Tucson Botanical Gardens.
Amazing as it may seem the Tucson area is home to 3 very impressive botanical gardens. The smallest is the Tucson Botanical Garden, based on 5 acres in the middle of the city.
After taking the car in for service on a Saturday morning I was looking for something to do and found the gardens was a short distance from the garage. So off to the gardens!
Amongst the floral and fauna was an indoor space for orchids and butterflies (complete with humidity). The butterflies were amazing, and very tranquil. And don’t let anyone tell you differently – 80 and humid feels far worse than 95 and not humid, as we stepped back outside to the comfort of no humidity!
The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum was established in 1952 as a zoo, botanical garden, natural history museum and art gallery.
While there are a few animals in enclosures there, the highlight of the grounds is the botanical gardens. Most of the shots here were taken with a 400mm Canon lens, showing the amazing detail of the blooms of the desert vegetation, as well as close ups of the birds and butterflies.
Tohono Chul is a botanical and sculpture garden in Tucson. It’s name translates to ‘Desert Corner’.
The visit on a beautiful Sunday morning provided enough quality shots for 2 postings. This first one is focusing on the sculptures scattered throughout the gardens.
A day in Dayton started at Wegerzyn Gardens.
Bienvenue au Québec
Quebec is 2 1/2 times the size of Texas, and nearly as large as Alaska, stretching from the USA border to past the Arctic Circle, with nearly all the people living within 100 miles of the American border.
With French being the primary language it truly feels like you have arrived in Europe, only it looks ‘North American’. I have always enjoyed visits to Quebec and look forward to going back.
Quebec City is the capital of the province. It is one of the oldest towns in North America, having been first settled in 1535, and founded as a town in 1608.
Nearby is Montmorency Falls, one of the largest volume waterfalls on the continent.
Canyon Saint Anne is another impressive natural setting, with a series of waterfalls dropping over 200′ through the canyon.
Pohenegamook is a small town on the Maine border, where some houses literally are sitting in both countries.
Montreal is the 2nd largest French speaking city in the world.
Old Montreal was the original setting for the town. Today it is the tourist center.
Montreal is home to a number of impressive cathedrals.
Parc Jean Drapeau is on a couple of islands in the middle of the St Lawrence River. It is home to, among other things, the Formula 1 racetrack. It is easily accessible via the Metro.
The Montreal Botanical Gardens is one of the finest in the world.
Montreal was host to the 1976 Olympics.
Olympic Stadium was home to the Montreal Expos until left town to move to Washington DC
The city has a great collection of architecture.
Au revoir du Québec, c’est parti pour l’Ontario
Dating from the late 1800s, the Carlos Thays Botanicall Garden is a beautiful setting for the plants, trees, sculptures and buildings that make up the 17 acre urban oasis. It is located just off the Plaza italia.
As noted in the previous posting the Montreal Botanical Gardens has a number of specialty gardens that are extraordinary. The Chinese Gardens is the best.
As a bonus the Japanese Gardens are right next door!
The Montreal Botanical Gardens is one of the finest, if not the finest, botanical gardens in North America. It has a large number of specialty gardens, such as a Chinese Gardens (covered in a separate posting), as well as numerous thematic gardens – including one dedicated to poisonous plants!
Overall the gardens are amazingly beautiful, and well kept.
RDZ Photography 