Montreal's Botanic Gardens are amazing! Well, they were when we went and saw them as the gardens had been taken over by the Mosaicultures Internationales 2013 and were a sight to see indeed.
I'd been getting the Facebook feed for the plant sculptures at the Botanic Gardens for a while and knew that we would definitely be going. I didn't know we'd be going when everyone else in Montreal decided to go! We took advantage of the signs suggesting that we avoid the long queues for tickets and get in in less than 5 mins by buying them online on our smart phone, and after 15 mins and 2 failed attempts we finally waltzed past the poor saps still waiting to pay at the counter!
The sculptures were simply awesome, out of this world, jaw-droppingly beautiful works of art. Every one was made of different coloured plants carefully positioned to create stunning animals and giant people, each telling a story related to the theme of the event this year, Land of Hope. Most were bigger than life-size and grand as any marble sculpture in my opinion! See below for some of my choice ones.
The gardens themselves are a massive sprawling land of greenery and water and many different landscapes. You walk through shady forest paths and out onto open grasslands bordered by meandering ponds (can ponds meander?). Along the way there are many forks in the trails and lots of park benches to rest your weary legs or have a well-earned snack. It's also a lovely place to have a picnic and kids are not left out. There is a playground with shady seating around it and of course an ice cream stand a short walk away.
Thanks goodness for both the playground and the ice cream stand I say! Austin was not in the mood for sculptures on the day we went, which was surprising because he's always dead keen to build his own out of anything he can find at home and leave them up for days! Even Grandma and Grandad experienced being hit by the Austinator when we stayed with them before we left, complete with step ladder and random boxes and toys, and in their kitchen of all places! So we thought Austin would be excited about seeing sculptures made out of plants, and he was, when he saw them on the website, but in real life, I don't know, maybe he was just too overwhelmed. Who knows? Anyway, he didn't like them and just wanted to wander off the path and into the forest to climb trees (prohibited in the gardens). The playground was a nice break for us from chasing after him and the ice cream stand a great bargaining tool (bribery?) for after lunch!
I'd been getting the Facebook feed for the plant sculptures at the Botanic Gardens for a while and knew that we would definitely be going. I didn't know we'd be going when everyone else in Montreal decided to go! We took advantage of the signs suggesting that we avoid the long queues for tickets and get in in less than 5 mins by buying them online on our smart phone, and after 15 mins and 2 failed attempts we finally waltzed past the poor saps still waiting to pay at the counter!
The sculptures were simply awesome, out of this world, jaw-droppingly beautiful works of art. Every one was made of different coloured plants carefully positioned to create stunning animals and giant people, each telling a story related to the theme of the event this year, Land of Hope. Most were bigger than life-size and grand as any marble sculpture in my opinion! See below for some of my choice ones.
The gardens themselves are a massive sprawling land of greenery and water and many different landscapes. You walk through shady forest paths and out onto open grasslands bordered by meandering ponds (can ponds meander?). Along the way there are many forks in the trails and lots of park benches to rest your weary legs or have a well-earned snack. It's also a lovely place to have a picnic and kids are not left out. There is a playground with shady seating around it and of course an ice cream stand a short walk away.
Thanks goodness for both the playground and the ice cream stand I say! Austin was not in the mood for sculptures on the day we went, which was surprising because he's always dead keen to build his own out of anything he can find at home and leave them up for days! Even Grandma and Grandad experienced being hit by the Austinator when we stayed with them before we left, complete with step ladder and random boxes and toys, and in their kitchen of all places! So we thought Austin would be excited about seeing sculptures made out of plants, and he was, when he saw them on the website, but in real life, I don't know, maybe he was just too overwhelmed. Who knows? Anyway, he didn't like them and just wanted to wander off the path and into the forest to climb trees (prohibited in the gardens). The playground was a nice break for us from chasing after him and the ice cream stand a great bargaining tool (bribery?) for after lunch!
How to get there
The Botanic Gardens are located on the corner of Rue Sherbrooke E and Boulevard Pie-IX. Metro: Pie-IX and buses 185 to Sherbrooke and 139 to Pie-IX. There's also a Bixi station at the entrance. For more information on the Botanic Gardens go to http://espacepourlavie.ca/en and follow the links. For more on the Mosaicultures Internationales 2013 visit http://www.mosaiculturesinternationales.ca/en/.