Have Blundstones, will travel to Canada’s public gardens!

So many of the gardens I’ll be visiting on this cross-country tour of Canada’s public gardens are putting me to work! On May 15, I’ll be reporting for duty at Victoria’s Butchart Gardens bright and early at 6 a.m. (so much for lingering over a sumptuous breakfast at Abigail’s…), ready to assume my job as the newest member of the gardening crew. My instructions are to “wear sensible shoes,” so along with my gardening gloves, I’ll be packing my Blundstones.

While in Victoria, I’ll visit the Hatley Gardens at Royal Roads for a gaze at the 250-year-old heritage Douglas firs (I hope they don’t need pruning…) before taking the ferry to Vancouver.

At Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden I’m looking forward to contemplating life, but the willow water snake might distract me from my meditations. And if the weather cooperates, me and my Blundstones will be walking under the yellow blossoms of the laburnum trees at the VanDusen Botanical Garden. Bidding farewell to Vancouver, I’ll hop the VIA Rail train for a trip over the Rockies to Edmonton.

Devonian Botanic Garden executive director Ruby Swanson promises a golf cart ride through the garden’s 190 acres, saving me some shoe leather. Next up is a visit to The Enjoy Centre where owner Jim Hole will show me the state-of-the-art greenhouses. That afternoon, boots firmly placed on pedals, I’ll be bicycling through St. Albert to discover the town’s botanical art scene.

Aboard the Winnipeg-bound VIA Rail train, I’ll catch my breath and polish my Blundstones, ready for a visit to Assiniboine Park’s English Gardens, Conservatory and Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.

All too soon, the Western leg of Garden Making’s tour of public gardens will wind up in Toronto on May 25. I’d love your company along the way, so follow me on this blog, on Facebook and Twitter. Blundstones not required!