Greetings from lovely British Columbia! I am on Vancouver Island, in Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Vancouver Island has the claim to fame of the most pleasant weather in Canada. due to the pacific waters on 3 sides, it remains temperate all year round, with no snow or freezing weather. flowers bloom year round, people can golf all year. it also never gets hot here either. lots of humidity which makes the plants grow to colossal dimensions. everything is green and cool. temps have been averaging about 62 degrees. my idea of heaven. i forget i have dry eyes. no heat or air conditioning needed. alas, my big plans to move here are defeated in the face of real estate price tags. the average 3 bed, 2 bath ranch fetches $1.5M. Vancouver island is considered one of the highest priced real estate areas in the world. (I expect Monaco is right up there with them, so i've seen both pricey places in the same year). its where rich Canadians go to retire.
Vancouver Island is a 90 min. ferry ride from Vancouver (City), BC. it was a great ride, with lovely jewels of islands along the way. Vancouver Island is a gardener's dream. it is filled with botanical gardens and private homes with sumptuous gardens. apparently anything grows here. We visited 4 private gardens and all i can say is, I give up trying to garden. my pitiful attempts pale in comparison.
I have lost track of how many public gardens we have visited. The folks on this trip are die hard gardeners, that much i've learned. 31 people, most are master gardeners or at least quite dedicated to their gardening. their knowledge never ceases to amaze me.
our guide the last two days was Joan. what an original she is. she looked like a gnome, and i can picture her spending her life outdoors, loving every minute. She was a walking encyclopedia of horticulture and area history and lore. she grew up on a farm in the area and knows everyone it seemed.
I'm excited to go whale watching tomorrow morning and then to the last garden of the trip.
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