Trip Talk: Eavesdropping and Fun Conversation at Butchart Gardens

While Steve and I were enjoying our day at Butchart, I noticed a young girl concentrating on aiming her phone camera at a flower. Next to her was an older man and I heard her say, "Oh, look at this one!" The older man, I guess her grandfather, was watching with a smile on his face. "That's a beauty!" The girl replied, "Do you think mom and dad are going to be worrying about us?" Leaning into a flower for his own picture, he answered, "No, they knew what would happen if both of us went off with our cameras, there's only one Butchart Gardens!" I had to laugh as I meandered on…they got that right!

While Steve and I were stumbling around in the Sunken Garden, Steve saw a couple taking pictures of each other. Whenever he sees this, he walks right up and offers to take the couple's portrait, and this pair was very happy that he offered. Steve gave them modeling cues and made a joke to get them to laugh for their photo. I was focusing on the imageI was taking but couldn't help overhearing their snickering and the happy chatter from the couple. We wandered down the path together and talked about the park and pictures until parting company at some point. Later on we ran into them again and it was fun to say hello. What an amazing place to be.

Today's Pictures

I had a really hard time choosing which picture should be my main one--they are all such a bunch of screaming divas! I finally just closed my eyes and picked at random. It turned out to be another Candy-Striped Gazania, this one in yellow and red with a very shallow dof. The enormous patch of gazanias we found threatened to shackle me to the spot…I just couldn't get enough of these ridiculously colorful flowers! (I've included an inset of the other gazania picture I shared)

Inset 1: a pair of purple-blue Lobelia against a sea of flowers transformed into colorful bokeh

Inset 2: a brilliant orange and red Marigold in front of many others

Inset 3: a perfectly pink Impatien

Inset 4: an ornate coral and white Impatien with a group of back-up beauties

Inset 5: a hot-pink Impatien in a pack of others

Inset 6: here's a punch-drunk honey bee crawling around on Lantana…there were so many insects enjoying the bounty offered by the Garden's millions of flowers!

Inset 7: another glowing abstract of a Canna leaf

Inset 8: more lovely curls from the succulent I saw when entering the park

Inset 9: a carpet of colorful Coleus

Inset 10: a human-sized chess set! I enjoyed watching this boy heft pieces around on the board. Apparently one of the pieces wasn't there judging by the sign, "We apologize for the missing chess piece. It is currently being repaired."

Pam, have you ever tried growing flowers like gazanias? I'd like to at some point but won't bother until we can have a garden in a cooler setting and without critters I have to fight with! I hope you're having a good day. It's rainy and cold here today, not lovely like Butcharts!

Explored on 10/04/19; highest placement #11.