for Christmas I gave friends a visit to The Leaf to see Voyage by Fleurs de Villes… it was fun because they got the card at Christmas, and then we got to spend time and have fun together during some very cold days in the city…
I was so excited when I saw that it was coming as I had gone to a similar show with my daughter in a mall in Ottawa and had been blown away with the amazing creations the florists had produced…
this was my favourite, but all the florists did a wonderful job…
I attended three times over the last week and every time I was there it was filled with many people (although I didn’t feel stressed) and the place was bustling… besides being a great exhibition, it looks as though it brought many new people to visit the space…
I had conversations with folk who had never been to The Leaf, members who had been many times, and others who had heard from friends and family about the show and decided to come for this special event…
seeing it in the biomes was much lovelier than in the centre of a mall, lol…
spending time in this wonderful oasis is like a little vacation in southern climes… well, for an hour or so, lol…
my membership, to both The Leaf and the Zoo, has been worth every penny and the cost of a membership for a senior is very reasonable and means I can visit as often as I wish all year round…
it was a wonderful treat and I enjoyed each visit… I had considered going for one last time this evening as I hadn’t been at night, but the tickets were sold out…
way to go Winnipeg… hope we get more shows like this;-)…
Wednesday was my third and final visit to Voyage at The Leaf…
took another friend who hadn’t been to The Leaf previously…
the parking lot was beyond crazy, apparently there was a big event on in the building… thankfully there weren’t tons of people going through the biomes…
we had a great time and a fabulous visit;-)… I keep seeing new things in many of the displays, and got a few interesting photos of details…
we had fun deciding on our favourite display, and this time I chose the Japanese display, prepared by Fache Floral… I liked the simplicity and the amount of work it must have taken to strip the colour out of the leaves…
we also found the cutest T-shirts with the saying – flowers make me happy – which happens to be the first hashtag I have used since I started on IG…
Monday I had another wonderful visit to see Voyages by Fleurs de Ville at The Leaf…
it was a treat to share this special place with friends, some of whom hadn’t been before…
every time I am there I see something different or learn something from the gardeners or volunteers… we had searched all over for the name of this flower/plant…
this trip I learned that this gorgeous flower is a heliconia, thanks to one of the gardeners;-)…
we wandered through the Tropical Biome and then enjoyed the Voyages exhibit in the Mediterranean Biome…
seeing the displays in person is so very different than looking at photos…
this time I chose a different favourite display, lol… I loved the sweetgrass hair and the birch bark bodice…
it was nice to see so many people enjoying the exhibition and learning about The Leaf…
from there we moved into Gather Craft Kitchen and Bar for a lovely lunch to celebrate a birthday…
what a wonderful way to enjoy a freezing cold day… it is always a treat to spend time together and make memories;-)…
what a delightful time I had on Friday for my first visit to Voyage by Fleurs de Villes at The Leaf…
went with a friend who hadn’t made it to The Leaf before and it was such a treat to show her this gem…
we went around 2 pm and the parking lots were all full… we found a spot when someone left, at the very end of the gravel lot… even though there were many people, there were a good number of hangers to make leaving coats outside the biomes easy…
there was a lineup to get into the biomes, but it moved quickly and most people went directly into the Mediterranean Biome for the display, but we went through the Tropical Biome and admired the lush growth… my friend said she thought it was like the old Conservatory, but on steroids, lol… the plants are getting enormous and we were dripped on a few times, maybe from the humidity…
from there we moved into the Mediterranean Biome to see all the beautiful mannequins…
there were many people when we started our tour, but by the end it had thinned out nicely… I took photos of all the descriptions as it was so crowded around each one, lol…
after we sat and reviewed all the pictures we took, we decided on our favourites and filled out our ballots before heading home;-)…
the Mediterranean biome smelled of rosemary and there were many of the plants growing all over the area… the Celebration installation was bright and shiny, with tons of lights on the trees and I was struck by some of the snowflake and icicle ornaments, so cute…
the many holiday trees, poinsettias, and amaryllis were beautiful;-)… the succulent tree is eye catching and I took quite a few photos of it…
I always like to visit the wollemi pine, a very rare tree known as the dinosaur tree…
sadly, we didn’t spot any butterflies in the Shirley Richardson biome…
a lovely visit…
what a treat to have this amazing place here in the city… a great replacement for the old Conservatory;-)…
the restaurant was very busy, but we were seated by the window at a two-person table, so were quite a distance from the other diners…
we shared chorizo spiced seitan tacos, I had pork and veal meatballs, and my grandson had a fancy hamburger and everything was tasty… we decided to skip dessert and go for blizzards after our visit to the biomes…
as we wandered through the Tropical biome it was quite amazing to see how the plants have grown… the place is absolutely lush;-)… leaves fell over the walkways in a number of spots, lol…
looking down from the bridge on the third floor it was striking to see how much everything has grown…
it was the first time since that inaugural visit that I’ve been at night… unfortunately it was too dark for my Nikon so all my photos were with my iPhone… got to see some bananas, a pineapple, coffee beans and cacao pods…
it looks like the inside of the biomes have been wrapped with plastic, and the fans in the Tropical biome were blowing rather vigorously…
it was exciting to see that there were a great number of various-sized smaller koi in the pond… babies, maybe;-)…
the next post will be about the Mediterranean biome;-)…
visited the cacao trees and took a few photos for my daughter, lol…
had a good time watching the koi and even got a few reasonable shots;-)…
met my buddies for lunch at Gather Craft Kitchen & Bar and it was tasty, as always… our server, Camille, had served us on Friday when we were there last and remembered me;-)… she did a great job to ensure our meal and time there went well…
after lunch I spent a bit more time with the fish;-)… and then sat and wrote this blog as the water fell in front of me;-)…
on Friday, before my daughter left to return home to Ottawa, we went one last time to The Leaf…
we walked through the Diversity Gardens in the daylight and were happy we went early, because the temperature was rising quickly…
we checked out the Water area and were thrilled to discover water lily blooms…
then it was on to the Tropical Biome to visit the cacao trees… while there, she provided a little education for a few visitors;-)…
some of us stayed in that spot, and the rest of us checked out the other areas… we weren’t able to see the Butterfly Garden or walk on the skywalk as they were closed for the day, but it was fun to check out both biomes…
we had an early lunch at Gather, one last visit to the cacao trees and then home to nap and finish packing for the flight…
Tuesday and Wednesday we spent hours at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park…
things have grown and been added since I was last there…
there was mist rising from the ground and there are now three cacao trees…
it was very exciting to see them in flower and with pods on one…
Tuesday we were there in the morning and came across some school classes and quite a few other visitors… we had a delicious lunch at Gather and went back into the biomes for a last look before heading home…
on Wednesday we went in the evening… I had hoped the lights would be on but they weren’t until after we left, lol… there were few others in the space and ample opportunities to sit quietly and reflect on the beauty of nature…
thanks to a very knowledgeable volunteer, we found the sugar cane and the dinosaur trees…
we did enjoy dessert at Gather before a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens… one treat was sitting by a fire in the Indigenous Peoples Garden…
looking forward to another visit in a few weeks… cheers;-)…
herbiggirlpants 