I had my first public tour of the season on Wednesday and was delighted to see the progress that had been made in a week. It’s hard to talk about the Victorian elements of a garden when they haven’t yet been planted.
The Dahlia’s are in, the tropical display bed has been planted, as have the geometric beds around the bandstand. The urns on the bridges are full, the living urns have also  been moved into place beside the bandstand, and the Hibiscus beds by the soldiers fountain and the scroll beds around the Jubilee fountain are finished. Those gardeners have been busy!!! It hurts my back to think of it.
Almost all of the trees have leafed out with a few exceptions. This week the season really heats up.

Lovely job. I particularly like the tall Dracaena and Yucca in the center of the upper bed. It balances the Agaves.

The urns on the bridges are wearing their summer garb.

Too bad we can’t smell pictures. The Azaleas are open and filling the Gardens with lovely scent.

This gorgeous Azalea is the one by the SW entrance which commemorates the Twin City Agreement between Halifax and Hakodate, Japan. It is breathtaking and worth a visit.

Ready, set, go….

There are many varieties of Rhododendrons flowering at different times. This was one of the first to flower in the larger leaved species.

The ‘labrador to the bird world’ wastes its pleading look on me. I don’t feed dogs or birds.

Windflower. Now I know why they are called that. They were all facing the same direction though I don’t recall any wind to speak of.

Joseph Hooker a doctor with a passion for botany risked life and limb (he even spent time in jail) discovering new plant species. He introduced 45 new species of Rhododendrons to the UK and started a Victorian craze. He later became Director of the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew.

A Viburnum and a crabapple create a soft, pretty display by the ladies washroom.

My tours have begun again and will continue through to September on Wednesdays at 10AM (except when it rains).
On it I discuss how the Halifax Public Gardens came to be and how Victorian society and the many innovations which evolved from that period, shaped the style of gardens of the day. I also discuss the plants that were all the rage. We have many of them.
All are welcome and the tours are compliments of The Friends of the Public Gardens.
Thank you Helen for the lovely signs!

We have a very busy week coming up.
Wednesday at 7PM The Friends of the Public Gardens will be holding their AGM.
On Friday Canada will be celebrating the first National Garden Day with an exciting day planned at the Gardens with our favorite floral personality, Neville MacKay.
On Sunday the Concert Series begin.
For more information simply click on any of the green links.
Hope you can attend.

All copy and images copyright © Serena Graham-Dwyer,  2013. If you wish to use any part or whole of an image, in any manner, please contact us.