Not much happening here in the gardens except putting the borders to bed, getting the tender plants inside and into the basement. So I thought this might be a good time to reminisce about the past year in multiple parts. Come along with me as we revisit some of the places I’ve been and things I’ve done this past year.
I’m going to start with one of the most recent….the Montreal Botanical Gardens and the Mosaicultures Exhibit. This is an international competition started in 1998. “Its mission is to promote gardening and horticulture as both an expression of new millennium values and a vital component of the urban landscape”. It’s held in a different venue every 3 years.
Steve & I planned a short anniversary trip in September up to see this fantastic exhibit that I had been hearing & reading about all summer. A hotel was booked right nearby and the route was planned.
The day we got there had to be the hottest of the year, up into the 90’s! We started out first thing in the morning and decided to see the hothouses first before it got too hot & crowded….good decision! The following are a few photos from the conservatories.
After our pretty private tour of the greenhouses out we went to discover what this Mosaiculture thing was all about. And WOW were we in awe and wonder!! Just take a look!
And this is just a select few! There were many others that we didn’t see and loads more that I didn’t get good photos of. The most amazing one..in my opinion..was the ‘Bird Tree’. Unfortunately the crew was working on it so we couldn’t get a pristine view of it…but stupendous all the same. All of the sculptures are formed from a mesh that small rooted plugs of mostly brightly colored foliage is then inserted following a precise pattern to create each block of color.
We then wandered about the gardens. I really wanted to see the famed Alpine Garden, while it was huge and impressive, it will be much better to see it in the spring when the early blooming plants & bulbs are in their glory.
We also toured the Chinese gardens which were beautiful with a Koi pond and pavilions.
See the slanted building in the background? That’s part of the Olympic Park right across the street!
We also strolled through the woodland gardens which had a really beautiful Monkshood in full bloom and some huge Hosta specimens. This garden would also be best seen in the spring.
So plans will be made to get back to Montreal next spring to see this great botanic garden again and perhaps tour the old city.
Primrose Hill Woodlanders 
Hi Amy
Good to hear what you are up to. Funny but Gus’s mother sent me a link to the exhibit at the Montreal Botanic Garden today. I wish I had seen it, I’m sure it is well over now, 20 degrees here tonight. I have 1 more box of tulips to get in the ground before the end of the day. You have inspired me to add some beds of cyclamen in the woodland garden. I’ll be on the lookout for seeds when the seed exchanges are out. I’ll make an effort to collect primula seeds next summer, I planted out a few of the better developed primula seedlings but the rest are spending the winter in the greenhouse.
I’m sending a link to a few photos of my garden, there have been a lot of changes in the past 2 years.
Bruce
Hi Bruce,
There is another similar exhibit at the Atlanta Botanic Gardens…or so I’ve heard. Yep, pretty cold here too, never got out of the 30’s. Yes you should definitely grow some cyclamen from seed! They are super easy. Soak them in a cup of water with a drop of dish soap added for a day then sow warm. The seed donations are coming in, but a few of the past donors have dropped off the map. :>(
I’ll take a look at your as soon as they arrive. And thanks!
Those are some amazing exhibits! I think the maintenance guys in the cherry picker actually do a good job of putting some scale to the size of the sculptures, I wouldn’t have guessed they were so big.
I wonder how I could do something similar in my own yard heh heh. Maybe a little smaller 😉
Yes, they were huge! Most were about 20′ high. You’re right about the crew being helpful at showing the scale.
Of course you could try creating your own on a smaller scale and have something really cool!
I go in and out of the city every so often and I have never stopped to go through the botanical garden. Your photos are such an inspiration to stop and spend an afternoon…Thank you
Hi Charlie,
It was pretty nice place I will definitely go back! You’re so welcome and glad you enjoyed the tour.
Amy,
How do you grow your Cyclamen species from seed?
Dorothy Swift
Hi Dorothy,
I soak the seed in water with a drop of dish soap over night. sow them and put them under lights indoors. they usually sprout in a few weeks. Keep them in the seed pots for a year then prick them out to individual pots.
Have fun with them! And I’ll see you in May!
That definitely looks like a botanical garden worth visiting. I would have loved to have seen those sculptures, amazing. Your photos are great.
Oh yes, it was pretty great. thanks Carolyn!
I found out too late about this event at Montreal BG – so I envy you! Really crazy what they did if you think about it – you capture it well in your pictures.
Thanks so much for your compliments on my photos….I really am NOT much of a photographer, but I am trying.
The sculptures were astonishing in their size and the amount of plant material needed to make them! There was a similar exhibit at the Atlanta BG too.
I am definitely planning to get back to MBG in the spring!