Yesterday my boyfriend Ben and I went to Nitobe Memorial Garden at UBC to check out a matcha festival. Considered to be one of the top traditional Japanese gardens in North America, Nitobe Memorial Garden honours the Japanese scholar, educator and diplomat Dr. Inazo Nitobe (1862-1933). Nitobe is meticulously designed and maintained, down to each […]
Gardens to Visit
Gardens to visit: Terra Nova
My family and I visited the Terra Nova Rural Park in Richmond today. Despite having being told about the awesomeness of Terra Nova over a year ago, today was our first visit. Spelt growing in the Daily Bread section of the Schoolyard Society garden mixes wonderfully with other edibles. The original ornamental grass! In addition […]
Sooke Harbour House gardens: a real live edible landscape
A couple weekends ago, we visited friends of ours in Sooke, a small community on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Sooke is known for a couple of things. For families and outdoorsy types, it’s all about the beaches and swimming at the Potholes, while the Sooke Harbour House is a must for the luxury […]
Loire affair
Poppy fields, Loire Valley. Perhaps I inflicted permanent injury to my patience during the first half of my Great European Backpacking Trip of ’96-’97. It’s the only way I can explain what must have happened to my travel ethic. I started out on that trip every bit the Girl Guide (“Be Prepared”). Oh-so-diligent. I saw […]
Monet’s garden at Giverny
There’s something exhilarating about seeing a famous garden in person. I also find, and, maybe it’s just me, that I am usually slightly underwhelmed. Maybe it’s because often there are hordes of tourists, or I feel like I have to take everything in and end up hurrying through, snapping photos, without really enjoying it. I […]
Paris, Part Two
I guess it’s not all that surprising that a Parisian arts and culture centre with a giant golden flowerpot at its main entrance would lead me to discover a modern garden pot company. Teracrea was at the Pompidou Centre as a temporary exhibit at the Printemps Design studio. I wasn’t allowed to take photos in […]
Paris, Part One
I’m home. We had a wonderful time in France, and already miss it. Well, parts of it. Miss: the fresh, fresh, gorgeously-decadent food; the mind-blowing wines for under $10; the accessibility of great art, architecture and design; my sister. Don’t miss: the smoking; the humidity; how easy it is to overindulge. Now it’s time to […]
France update
I’m writing now from La Ferme de Rouffignac, a foie gras farm near Bellac in Limosin. Of all the farms and chambres d’hotes (B&Bs) we’ve stayed at so far, it is my least favourite – too commercial and lacking in character for my taste – but it has wifi (or as the French say, “wee-fee”). […]