The botanical garden in Montreal is spectacular. It’s considered one of the most important botanical gardens in the world, due to the extent of its gardens and plant collections, and is also one of the largest. With over 181 acres, 10 greenhouses, more than 26,000 species of plants, arranged in stunning thematic gardens, it’s a mind-boggling treasure. Every path David and I followed took us to another visual delight.
While we were taking photographs of the trumpet like seed heads of water lilies in the Chinese garden pool, a man came up behind us and said, “It’s so beautiful. You could go all the way to China and not see anything as beautiful as this.” As I agreed he asked if we’d seen the bonsai collection around the corner, which we hadn’t. We followed a path around another corner, and there was miniature grandeur, perfectly shaped and sculpted tiny trees, some older than 100 years. The living art of plants exemplified by the bonsai trees spoke for all that this botanical garden represents — finding and holding beauty so that it can speak its own language.
Grace Mattern 