had a fun time in the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden at The Leaf on Thursday… it wasn’t too cold outside and bright so there was lots of activity…
a fair number of people were in the space and there were many butterflies…
apparently I was enamoured with the orange ones, lol…
this little one sat and offered different poses;-)…
and, of course, I tried to catch the elusive Blue Morpho… there were quite a few of them, but what makes it elusive is that you need to catch it in flight to capture the blue colour, lol… but I did get a partial shot;-)…
at least you can see some of the blue…
spending time in this space sure does make me happy;-)…
we arrived about 10:45 am and it felt like we walked into a wall of moisture… clearly the humidity level has gone up considerably since we were last here…
there were a good number of people in the space, but it didn’t feel crowded…
the waterfall is still spilling into the walkways, but it seemed at a lesser degree…
the plants are visibly growing and are lush and bright, even on a partially overcast day…
they seemed so much happier than on my last visit, when many of them looked like they might not survive…
lots of different flowers blooming throughout both the tropical and Mediterranean biomes…
every walk through the biomes brings something different and interesting… can’t wait to see what future visits will produce…
enjoyed the Mediterranean biome… as soon as I enter I am reminded of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights… I think it is all the Tyndall stone, the spiral walkway, and the industrial looking steel…
the living wall is huge and amazing…
and the spiral begonia was so pretty…
the amaryllis are stunning…
it is lovely to have such a beautiful space to visit during the winter months…
they are making improvements all the time… it looks like they may soon have machines so you can purchase your ticket without standing in line…
we had a lovely time walking through the biomes… it was quite warm and humid in the tropical biome and there weren’t too many people when we arrived around ten am… by the time we left, just before noon, the place was starting to fill up…
the gardeners were working in the space cleaning up fallen leaves and checking the temperatures around the various areas… had a lovely chat with one of them…
I seemed to focus on orange flowers this time;-)… and I was happy to see the coffee beans even though I don’t drink coffee, lol…
love the banyan tree and got shots of a few others… can’t wait to watch them as they grow… and I found a couple of banana trees…
the waterfall is adding a lot of humidity to the space…
got a nice shot of the other direction from just under the waterfall…
and a view from the catwalk…
looking forward to more visits and to watching the areas change and grow…
spent an hour and a half wandering through The Leaf in the daytime…
we took ample time to search out the plants as we wandered through the tropical biome… and we found the cacao tree;-)…
the waterfall continues to over perform…
I am betting that there are people working very hard to figure out how to end up with less splash, lol…
I spent at lot of time on the bridge, watching the beautiful koi swimming around the pond… a lovely treat;-)…
there were a lot of people there, but it didn’t feel too crowded… we wore masks but the majority of others didn’t… since I was last in the space there have been large fans added, so there did appear to be a lot of noise, but once through the doors into the Mediterranean biome, it was quiet…
the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden was a much busier place with numerous butterflies flitting about… it is always fun to search for the ones that have landed and are blending in with the foliage… as visitors move through this area they are quiet and will sit and patiently watch the action…
there are two elevators to take you up to the canopy and the Butterfly Garden and only one was working… seems to slow the flow down a bit…
there was ample space for jackets in the coat room, many volunteers to answer questions and direct the flow of people, and lots of open space…
last night we went to The Leaf at Assiniboine Park…
I’ve been waiting ages for it to be finished… the Conservatory closed in April 2018, which feels like a long time ago… this was our view as we stepped into the space… possibly the waterfall is splashing a bit more than expected as there are a few areas that are wet, lol…
it didn’t disappoint;-)… the tropical biome is lovely and I expect it will look even more beautiful as times goes on…
the technology always interests me and they have done a great job of hiding the fire extinguishers but making them easily available…
the space is big and bold with the tall waterfall and large pond…
we spent a lot of time watching the koi… they were beautiful colours and huge… I was struggling with a bit of fish-envy…
I am looking forward to visiting next in the daytime…
the Mediterranean biome was reminiscent of the CMHR building with lots of stone… and it was possible to touch most of the plants;-)…
the display area was cute with many poinsettias, seasonal decorations and places for group photos…
the poinsettias were a sweet reminder of the old Conservatory at Christmas time…
the view looking down from the catwalk was wonderful although I felt a bit nervous with the height, so my grandson took all the pictures, lol…
the Shirley Richardson Butterfly Garden at the top of the building was nice…
it was late and dim so we only spotted a couple of butterflies that were resting… I definitely need to visit it in the daytime as well…
it wasn’t too full of visitors, and there were a number of staff (likely many were volunteers) to get you in and around the site…
there was a place to leave your coat (unattended) before entering the biomes, which was great as the space is warm;-)… there is ample parking and you can purchase tickets online or as you enter… you need your membership card, with ID, just like at the zoo…
a wonderful treat and I can hardly wait to visit again😊…
herbiggirlpants 