Thinking Allowed: Spring into Canada

While the British have a depressing culinary heritage, they have passed on other redeeming qualities to their former colonies - like tea and cricket and beautifully kept and manicured gardens. While our stay in Victoria was brief, it was filled with non-stop oohs and aahs over flowers and plants. We have been flung back into Canadian springtime and Victoria really put on a show for us- like a peacock trying to seduce us back to home soil. Our children got to run through fields dotted with daffodils, climb trees dripping with blossoms and throw pebbles into streams of clear bubbling water.
The first thing Sophia said when exiting the airport in BC was "mama, it smells great here!" But in Victoria it wasn't just the public parks that were expertly gardened. It seemed all the homes we walked by were expertly tended to and a free attraction. I didn't see any derelict neglected homes. I didn't even see any homes with just a lawn. Not all cities are so consistently and extensively and expertly groomed like Victoria is and, while there might be a better reason, I am going to attribute this gardening culture to lingering effects of Victoria's British past. It wasn't just the flowers that impressed, the entire city exuded a feeling of order and cleanliness that was charming. And, when you think about it, unfathomable. How does a city create a culture of gardening? How are the streets so eerily clean? Do they mop the roads each morning? Is this about elementary school curriculum? And how does that super tall totem pole we saw (the world tallest apparently) not fall down? Victoria, you have piqued our curiosity.

And as we start to explore more of the area I am falling back in love with evergreen trees and vast cedar forests. While in Australia I was all about the eucalyptus- their grace, soft spoken hues, diversity, intriguing aroma and fierceness in the face of fire. But evergreen forests, with their bold contrasting colors, tall confidence, blankets of snow and spicy perfume, have a certain enchantment that the eucalyptus lacks. While I can picture bilbies and cute feral children hiding in a eucalyptus forest, I wouldn't be surprised if I found fireflies and fairies nestled among the cedar roots.