And then don't forget that I get a wee somethin', somethin', from each sale - Thank You soo much!! Hello, more chocolates and flowers, for me, too! ; )
So, I am forever going for all these gorgeous walks, and I don't know why I haven't just taken you along with me, right? So, now, I'll start posting all my lovely pictures - well, most of them - lol! All the pictures you will love!
My new favorite picture from today's walk, Saxe Point Park,
Victoria (Esquimalt!), BC, Canada
The Fall is so gorgeous in Victoria, BC, Canada - it's always so pretty here, on our beautiful island, Vancouver Island, but if you love the Autumn Colours, you'll love it over here! : )
These Dahlias are well over 6 - 8 feet tall - how amazing is that? So gorgeous!
Look at these gorgeous faces!! Flower Faces! Fall Flower Faces - FFF! : )
There are so many free parks in the Greater Victoria Area - and fantastic parks for children - of all ages! The new Water Park in Esquimalt, right beside the Rec Centre, is ah'mazing, the kids will go crazy! Wear your bathing suit! lol! : )
Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Tulips, Oh, My! lol! Follow the Yellow Brick Road, right through the Gardens! : )
Let's Go For a Walk! : )
We were at the Butchart Gardens, just outside of Victoria, BC, Canada, in Southern Vancouver Island - is endlessly gorgeous, here - Butchart Gardens played a huge part in my decision to move to Victoria, BC - sooo gorgeous!
Victoria has really mild weather, year-round - we even have Palm Trees! So cool, right? Palm Trees in Canada! lol!
Okay, let's get going! Walk this way... (think Monty Python! haha!)
Walk this way...! lol! Remember that old joke? A li'l funny! haha!
How stunning is this orange? Wow, and right beside the pinks and reds - wow, is a sight for sore eyes, as they say (in Scotland? haha!)!
The whole area is called Saanich, so we call it, Saammiches in Saanich! haha! Or, Sandwiches in Saanich - either way, so good! : )
Fern Gully - so pretty! Very peaceful : )
The Bellagio's Little Sister? Maaay-be!
Through the Trees - I was going for, old growth and new growth - lol!
Okay, I hope you enjoyed our little walk through the Gardens with me, today! I'll post the rest of the pictures I took, today, in the morning! Hope you're having THE most Wonderful Life! See you soon! Ailsa : )
Travel! It's soo much fun! : )
All Sorts of Great Deals for you #FathersDayGifts!
Okay, and now for the rest of the pics from our lovely walk in the Gardens, #ButchartGardens!
The Butchart Gardens in May! It's gorgeous, year round!
Stunning Orange Tulips!
A beautiful path! So colorful!
Stunning - orange flowers are amazing!
Wow, Yellow Tulips with a beautiful pink tip... so gorgeous! : )
Beautiful Red Tulips with my favorite little, delicate Forget-Me-Nots!
Don't worry, pretty little blue flowers, we'll never forget you! lol! : )
Wait, do I already have this one? Haha! I really, really love the orange flowers! lol!
Gorgeous pink blossoms, in a field of purple - soo pretty!
You could plant your garden so it looks like a giant bouquet of flowers!
These Red Tulips and little blue Forget-Me-Nots look like a beautiful bouquet of Roses, right?
So pretty!
I was going for the Old Growth encompassing the New Growth... you like that? lol! I just liked the concept, in tree form! lol!
So pretty! Tulips, Baby!
Omg, how stunning are these white and purple tulips? I've never seen Tulips with this color mix, before - so delicate, so pretty!
These are the same White and Purple Tulips - it was such a bright and sunny day!
Lots o' Light in the Gardens!
Omg, how stunning is this Purple Wisteria Tree? I loove it! So gorgeous!
Spectacular!
Oh, these pale yellow tulips were soo delicate and pretty!
Now I need to go haz me some butter! lol! : )
And then the beautiful Yellow Wisteria, right at the Front Entrance to the Gardens - go a little further over from the main path (I'm always straying off the main path - haha! Life is even more exciting, off the main path! : )
I think I'll get my daughter to do the filter thing, so you can see better what it looks like when you're right there - is remarkably bright and the colors are so vibrant - wow, no wonder we ended up just moving here! lol! : )
If you are a Birder, or you just like to watch little birds playing, or listen to their lovely songs, there are so many beautiful birds on Vancouver Island -
I was just watching some little Hummingbirds playing around my balcony - and in the trees, outside - so pretty! The trees AND the hummingbirds - lol!
But Hummingbirds make me laugh - I just said to my son, these little hummingbirds, they're like the ADHD of the Bird World, and that made him laugh, so I thought, ha, that makes me laugh, too!
And, just in case you're new-to-me, I'm a Special Education Teacher, so I love my ADHD guys - I've got a special place in my heart for all my wonderful students, and anyone dealing with anything at all... Redirection is so often the key, and, skip what so many 'experts' say, and 'let' (I don't really like that word, either...), but be okay with your child playing their favorite games, on their iPods, PS4, WiiU, computers, TV, whatever devices they like the best - it's good for their brain, good for them, good for you - and you could easily have a little genius on your hands, and always keep in mind that the Gaming Industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, sooo, think of it as training for a potential career, if anyone else gives you a hard time about it - that whole thing about 'screen time' - bleah - that's so old fashioned, I canny be bothered with it. Hello, New Thinking! : )
Oh, and here's another little tidbit you, for some unknown reason, rarely get to hear about people dealing with ADHD - they are able to hold many thoughts in their minds at the same time - so they can accomplish great things - the focus will be there on what matters to them, at any given point, so sometimes you have to let them sift through all of their ideas, determine what's the most important - is sometimes tricky in a school setting, when something specific is expected, but if there is a shift change in how things are expected, that can be more useful in getting things done : )
Hope that helps! Ailsa! : )
And look who we saw on New Years Day, in the Gardens? Butchart Gardens, just outside of Victoria, BC, Canada... in case you just quickly scrolled down - lol! Soo many gorgeous little birds in the Gardens - and then, yesterday, we saw two amazing Eagles flying overhead, at the Fairway Grocery Store - of all the places to stand there, looking up... but they were gorgeous, huge, and so majestic! And then, I'm listening to all the little birds playing outside my window, right now - they're having the best day, ever! And the little hummingbirds are all crazy, they're all super-happy-excited, just to flit around, all over the place - hilarious! Highly entertaining for me! lol!
And look who joined us on our walk, yesterday? So surprising, he just walked right up to us, joined our little group, and stayed with us for the whole walk - how cool is that? lol! Sooo gorgeous! Those feathers, and those colors - beyond brilliant! : )
Mr. Peacock, I presume? haha!
So gorgeous! This is over at Beacon Hill Park, in Victoria, BC, Canada - and I've never, ever, seen ice on this little pond, before - so surprising, but pretty funny to see the ducks waddling all over the ice - lol! They seemed to love it! Slip slidin' away-ay-ay... are you singing, yet? A little Simon and Garfunkel? lol! #Peacocks!
That'crrrazy, right? Snow and Palm Trees - who wouldda guessed? lol! We were shocked to see snow out in the Gardens, today, Butchart Gardens, since we don't have a drop of snow left over from our freak snow storms, earlier this week - usually, we're all covered in pink blossoms, by now! lol!
But we do have lots of lovely little Snow Drops! Yay! And the little blanket of blue flowers won't be far behind!
And now for the gorgeous (and FREE!) Gardens at Royal Roads University - Hatley Castle, out in Langford, BC - bring a loonie for parking, walk up and around Hatley Castle, there's a little gate off to the right hand side of the front of the beautiful building - it's little, there's a little sign to say Gift Shop and Gardens.. you can go in to the Formal Gardens, to the left, then come back toward the gate, go to the right, ENJOY! lol!
Japanese Gardens, a Rose Garden, is all so lovely and pretty, and completely free, other than the parking, and that's just a dollar : )
Isn't this photo surreal? This is actually the REFLECTION of the tree - the picture I took to get this shot is right below - how amazing is that? The sun was shining in the water, at just the right angle - I've never seen anything like it!
Cool, eh? Ah'mazing! Like Trick Photography! : )
Aidan in a Tree!
Aidan on a Bridge - lol!
The trees are so beautifully sculpted - so lovely, covered in blossoms!
I really, really loved this bridge - I love the 3 sections, and the reflection - and I looved the red tree off to the side - so pretty! April 18th, 2017 : )
Finally, I got to stand in the middle of a Daffodil Field - this is all I want to do, every Spring - haha!
Ailsa, Outstanding in My Field
(Not really my field, but, it is one o' mah' fave jokes - lol!)
Can you see these wee Geese? Out having a great day! Walkin' 'n swimmin'! lol!
We were just strolling through the gardens, walked right past this gorgeous Peacock - they're all over the grounds - they love to just poke about, fly on top of things, spread their feathers - so gorgeous!
See all the blossoms, just beginning to open? We're late, this year, about a month late - usually we're in full bloom, by April, so I'm hoping our blossoms will last right through 'til the end of May! And then we're on to the next batch of flowers! Yay!! Victoria, Land of the Flowers!
I love a little Babbling Brook : )
(What's that you're saying? Make a Wish? I'm on it! lol!)
These couple o' Geese, havin' a great day! And see how clear the water is in the Reflection Pond - so pretty!
I just couldn't get enough of that red tree - might have been a Japanese Maple - very early for it to be that red, though... I shouldda looked at the leaves - what was I thinking? lol! I was on to the next shot - haha!
And a close up of a beautiful Camellia, with the sun shining through the leaves - so pretty!
And this is not my picture, but I love it, is so pretty, and gives you a good view of the ocean, too, and Hatley Castle, so, you're going to walk around this road, past the Front Entrance, over to the Right, and you'll see the entrance gate to the Gardens - took us years to figure out there was yet another garden - and is like a Hidden Gem! It's fun to discover new-to-you gardens, and even better when they're free! lol! : )
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Helloo!! We're on another Garden Walk, today! Now it's June 13th - the roses are up, amazingly enough, and another 2 or 3 weeks, into July, and the Trellis Roses will be in full bloom - I love roses!
Now we're back over to the Butchart Gardens, is an easy drive from Victoria - we take the back roads, Burnside, turns into Interurban, Right at W. Saanich Road - you'll see The Red Barn, pop in for a delicious sandwich - today we got a Wrap - we had no idea they had wraps - deeelish! So we ordered them, brought them over to the Gardens, back onto West Saanich Rd., just a wee bit, then Right on Wallace, you'll see the turn off for Butchart Gardens, at Bienvenue, but the sign is right there - and a Stop Sign, badly placed... but, that's another story - lol!
OR, just take the Freeway, HWY 17, follow the signs : )
I seemed to remember that there were some picnic tables, on the way into the gardens, and, yippee, I was right, and what a gorgeous location for a little picnic! Was so pretty! Best Restaurant View, ever! (Well, I love all the ocean and mountain views, too - haha!)
So, please to enjoy, our little Garden Trek, today, June 13th! : )
A new-to-me variety of Peonies - so gorgeous!
The Fern Dell : )
Our pic-i-nic spot (think Yogi Bear! lol!)
Hilariously, this is just off the Parking Lot (Canadian Parking Lots - lol!)
A great place for a wee picnic! Yum! Red Barn is just up the street, and you can get lots of treats in the Gardens, too : )
Aren't these Purple, Pink and White Stocks so pretty? I love the color combo! Stocks are hardy and easy to grow from seed, so, that would be nice in your garden, right? : )
My Best Boy Ever - lol! What I call Aidan, my wonderful son, happy to go anywhere with me - lol! Thanks, Aidan! : )
Stunning - an Orange Rose - so gorgeous!
A light pink and yellow variation of the new-to-me Peonies - sooo pretty!
Everything's Coming Up Roses! (Sing It!)
So gorgeous, and so lovely and fragrant!
I love Sweet Peas - I love the scent, and they're such a pretty little flower, all those pretty colors!
See how they built a TeePee out of Bamboo? They just tied it with string - no big engineering feat, here, something we could all make, in our own gardens - or, just plant your Sweet Peas along a fence, or somewhere they can climb - they looove climbing! : )
This tiny Dragon makes me laugh - and make wishes! lol! So cute, brand new, right at the top of the waterfall in the Zen Garden - see the crystal? Hello, Lucky Dragon! : )
Oh, here I am! I made that skirt out of a top - I love to doctor things up, make them work for me - is a good skill, to take something you never wear, turn it into something useful : )
And I love this little grotto, if you will - I can't say 'Grotto' without thinking of Hugh Heffner - haha! But, this little grotto is just full of lovely little flowers - love the colors!
We're celebrating our Canada 150, this year, so I think the plan must be to grow out these flowers, move them somewhere else, for July 1st, Canada Day, maybe? Well, pretty, one way or another! lol!
And these are the famous Blue Poppies - Blue Poppies are a bit of a rarity, so it's always exciting to see them, and I noticed they had the Blue Poppies in a few locations, in the Gardens, this year - so delicate - and I think they were all in the Zen Garden, at Butchart Gardens, so, they must like a certain level of shade - their shady ways - lol! ; )
Okay, I better go eat something! lol! I hope you get a chance to join us on our beautiful island, Vancouver Island, one day (Tomorrow? Let me know! lol!) You'll love it, it's always so gorgeous, here, in Victoria, BC, Canada! : )
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Here we go June 29th, 2017, out for a walk at Butchart Gardens - the Roses are in full bloom, they're just so gorgeous! So glad we popped out for a nice wee walk around the gardens! : )
So lovely, right? See the Impatiens in that last pic? Id you have a shady part in your garden, Impatiens love the shade - they'll be fine, there, and will provide lots of lovely color for your garden! : )
Thanks for going for a wee walk through the gardens with me!
Your little Garden Friend (not a gnome! lol!) Ailsa! : ) xoxo!
