When I was a little girl, no matter where we travelled, my mom always made sure that we stopped at the local gardens.  I don’t remember being excited or bored by these outings. They were just something we did. It was only a few years ago, when I saw a little girl dancing in her own little world at the Rose Garden in Portland, that I realized what a formative experience my early garden visits had been. All the feelings of ease, freedom, magic and joy returned in a rush. Maybe we’re less like to remember the gentle joys. But now I remember.

I remember.

Since then, I’ve made sure to continue my mom’s tradition, always with camera in hand.  (I learned that from my mom too!) And so on the perfect day in September, it seemed only right that Justin and I discover the gardens in our very own city.  We hopped on the bus and headed out to the Toronto Botanical Gardens.

It was a blue-sky day sprinkled with yellow leaves.

The perfect day for gentle chats and meandering…

For a slow pace and a deep breath…

For following magical pathways…

And meditating on beauty.

The Toronto Botanical Gardens includes a learning garden and when we were there, plenty of children were running about, getting their hands in the dirt and discovering. I smiled thinking how this experience would become a part of their history, perhaps a part of who they would become, just as my early garden visits had with me.

It was a delight to take in the beauty of flowers as we walked.

But the real stars of the show this fall were the trees.

Oh, the trees.

One of the things I truly love about Toronto it is that in this bustling urban centre there are places like this.

I absolutely had to bring some beauty home with me! A visit to the lovely gift shop had me delighting in parrot tulip bulbs. I’ve planted them in my little back garden and, squirrels willing, they’ll infuse the beauty of the gardens into our own backyard next spring.

What are your garden memories?