Sun and fun in the city!

What a fabulous weekend!  The sun was shining and I had some really spectacular surprises ... like finding a beautiful public garden next to my favourite local coffee chain JJBean.  Like most sunny days, it all started with a fantastic nature walk/hike through Deep Cove just east of North Vancouver.  This is such a special spot! I have been talking about going all summer long, but for whatever reason it never quite materialized until this Saturday.  I honestly have to say it was well worth the wait.

We were greeted to this fantastic view of the cove...

morning sunlight pouring through the trees...

The "hike"

And the view!!!  I was a little bit Hipstamatic* happy at this point

The day got increasingly happier!  We decided to go back to Maple Leaf garden Centre to get some plants for a friends front garden transformation ... and so I could get another AGAVE!!!! Remember the agave ovatifolia frosty blue I bought a couple weeks ago.  I am now the proud owner of another one!! Here it is after being planted on sunday afternoon.  It is situated where the unkown agave used to be.

As you can see I added a bunch of sand. It is mounded a bit and the soil beneath it flows away from the plant.  I'm hoping that will be good enough drainage.  Thankfully there are huge trees behind that actually keep the ground around here really dry.

The garden I "discovered"turns out to be the park and Tilford gardens.  They have an amazing selection of plants!!  The garden was divided into specific zones but overall was incredibly lush and inviting.  here are some of my highlights... 

loquat! I really want a loquat tree and so it makes me greatly excited when I see just how great they can thrive in our environment!

What great garden is complete without a palm tree!?! notice the elongated fronds? This palm is situated in a fair amount of shade which causes the fronds to literally reach more towards the sun. It makes for a really beautiful specimen.

The find of the day!!! Aloe striatula!  This was under the eaves of a south facing washroom up against a brick wall. Whoever planted it here new exactly where this little plant would thrive!  I love when you can read the mind of the gardener!

I almost missed this on the way out... I know... how can you miss great agaves?!  The planting albeit needs some help, but these are great agaves! I wonder how long they have been there?!

So what could make a great day even better? how about visiting ANOTHER NURSERY?!!?! How about Southlands Nursery ? It is only the mecca of garden centres in and around Vancouver.  Sadly, I had spent my plant budget for the day... but would that stop me? NO!  With much will power and determination I kept my purchases down to just one treasure... yucca aloifolia purpurea!  Here it is in its new pot....

Another view ... it has a fair bit of green and blue as well as a deep purple right in the crown.  I have never seen this particular yucca for sale at any garden centre in the area and have been keeping my eyes open for one.  They also had a great selection of yucca gloriosa recurvifolia "bright star" which I'm already planning a trip back to get some more.

To top it all off, the day ended at the Spanish Banks to walk along the beach and enjoy an epic sunset!  All in all, this day will go down in the books!  #LOVE

October 1st on the north shore

It's october 1st.  In many ways there is nothing left to say, just "october 1st." It sounds cold.  But truth be told, I actually had a stellar first day of October on the north shore with great friends.  The natural beauty of the Pacific Coast is nothing short of awe inspiring even on a cloudy, drizzly day.  Our adventures took us to Horseshoe Bay where we trekked out onto a little island to sit out and enjoy some of the scenery.  I was soooo excited to see some of the native arbutus menziessi and even native sedum!!!  Here are some photos...

This enchanted looking pathway lead to a spectacular look out.

We had to get our feet a little bit wet along the way and it was every bit as cold as you could even imagine.

That being said, this arbutus welcoming us to the rock made it all worth while!

The view is not too bad either :P (I could only imagine a sunny afternoon!!)

I love the way the arbutus seem to grow out towards the water!

This is the view looking down towards the water where we spotted a seal.

And then to our surprise (and my joy), SEDUM!!!

Here's a close up. can anyone ID this cute little sedum?

Our adventure continued to my favourite North Vancouver nursery, Maple Leaf garden centre.  They were getting ready for fall in a big way.  I have never been a huge fall/winter gardener but I felt really excited about these great planters and cabbages/kale.

And these yuccas of course called my name... notice the yucca gloriosa recurvifolia "bright star" in the back left!? I was having a conversation with myself about how it really belonged in my garden! "Maybe it will help add some continuity... hmmm?"

What would a nursery be without succulent love?!?!?!

but wait .... what's this? AGAVE!!!! I had to whip out the google with this one.... agave frosty blue? turns out its an introduction from cistus... agave ovatifolia "frost blue" it should say.  To make things even better, they were on sale for $9.99! If you are wondering, yes, one sooo came home with me!

After a successful nursery visit we decided to head down to the Lonsdale Quay for some food and sights.  Here is the view of downtown Van from the Quay.

The waterfront had some great plantings.

Including palm trees!!!

These pictures don't even begin to capture the size of these.

The cordyline in this planter reminded me of a really crazy ponytail!!! 

To make a fantastic day even better... the sun decided to make an appearance and we took the aqua bus over to downtown.  Check out this amazing planting of grasses!!!  It has a really whimsical feel.  Imagine these swaying in the wind.

Vancouver never fails to excite with great container plantings!!  Check out this great tropicals display at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

I guess I shouldn't complain about October too much after all.  If this is any indication of the month ahead it is shaping up to be spectacular!