Palm Sunday in Victoria

Yes we do have palm trees in Victoria. The city enjoys a somewhat Mediterranean climate which suits these hardy "Windmill" palm trees very well.

The city has planted palms (typically Trachycarpus Wagnerianus) in various locations in Victoria in the belief that it is nice for tourists that, when they are taking pictures of Victoria, there is 
some kind of exotic plant around. That way they could say: "I was in Victoria and look, it's so warm here 
that they have palm trees."

But no everyone is happy about promoting the city that way. Many residents feel that it would be better if people 
could appreciate and enjoy our own, wonderful, native species rather than try to bring other 
peoples' backyards to our region.

A house of colours

If you can't decide on what colour to paint your house...well, maybe it's best to just ask a young child how it should be painted!

In Uplands Park

A fire hydrant's sense of humour is not always subtle.

Blooming Victoria BC

Victoria has always been quite smug about having the best weather in Canada. However this year, Nature has outdone itself. Record-breaking weather conditions in early 2010 have produced a record for the 34th Annual Victoria Flower Count.
According to flower count spokesperson Graham Bell, there were 21,691,666,716 blooms counted in Greater Victoria between Feb. 25 and March 4. That number smashes the old record of 8.5 billion blooms set in 2002. It also means that there are enough flowers to give every man, woman, and child in Canada a bouquet of 650 flowers.
The annual flower count is seen as a fun way to promote tourism in this "City of Gardens."

The tipping point

No, this is not a special effects photo:
What's happened is that the ground gave way under a truck that was pumping concrete into the foundations of a new bay-side house.

The Cavalry is called in the form of two heavy-lift crane trucks from L.B.Crane Rentals.At about $250 an hour each this problem is going to be very expensive to fix. The crane cables are attachedand ever so gently the truck is brought back to an upright position.
Finally the truck folds up its extensions and prepares to leave the scene.

The Divine Lady

Spring has been in full bloom for the past three weeks here in Victoria as beautifully evidenced by the pink and green palette of the house known famously as "The Divine Lady."