Today was a city garden day. It was warm and sunny and Saturday, and in Victoria that means festivals. We had a choice of 5-6 things to do but we settled on two, an Oak Bay neighbourhood yard sale and the Artis-tree event at Government House. We took the bus to Oak Bay and then walked home, taking in as many yard sales as possible and being sure to get to Government House in time to linger there.
The yard sales were a bust. I don't understand Victoria yard sales. I've yet to see one where they have anything more to sell than a junk box or two of miscellaneous tchotchkes and maybe an old pair of shoes that they forgot under a bed. I know these houses are full of interesting stuff; either they don't want to sell anything or figure 99.95% of their possessions are worthy of a named auction. What is out for sale isn't fit for donation to WIN or Value Village.
However, we did get to walk along some side streets that we otherwise would never see. Plenty of lovely front gardens and even a few back gardens to peek into. The front gardens are so nice here; lots of flower beds and small lawns, rather than the acres and acres of grass and dandelions on the prairies.
Government House was something else entirely. It was packed with people and had over 100 artisans selling their wares. The art was OK, but I was struck by the grounds. So many excellent perennial beds and some massive sequoias. The south side of the grounds slopes down steeply toward the distant see and has a restored Garry Oak forest just south of the main house. These are scruffy, ugly trees but are native to the hills here and are returning to favour. It's a mystery to me how, after seeing the rocks and thin soil of a Garry Oak forest, the Europeans thought these lands would be perfect for reproducing their classic Old World gardens. But they pulled it off, and the contrast of both styles on the Government House land is remarkable.
I still believe the entire grounds should be given over to our unhoused community until we actually solve the housing crisis, but that's a post for another day.
Spotted between yard sales, Oak Bay
I love the colour!
My first encounter with a Leopard Plant, Government House