Lichen 2

Every time I reach the summit of Bear Hill I enjoy the wonderfully gnarled limbs of this large Garry Oak. It's like an enormous Bonsai. This oak and those pictured yesterday seem to think it's spring - they've got young green leaves sprouting from the ends of their branches. Perhaps this is a result of climate change.

Highrock Park 2

I love these Garry Oak landscapes. They have the austerity and stark beauty of a desert and at the same time they have the lush richness of a rain forest.

Christmas Hill

Benjamin and I spent a lovely afternoon on Friday up in this truly magical park. It is a great look out spot, affording views in all directions but I love it most for exploring the many paths that take you through the garry oak meadows. At this time of year it is so lush, green and purple thanks to the camas. - Fern

View from Swallows' Landing

The steep green hillside in the foreground is the Matson Lands, a conservation/restoration area of the Garry Oak ecosystem. On the right beyond the trees is West Bay and its Marina and RV Campground. The stairway in the foreground is to protect the Matson Lands from trampling and other damage. At the bottom it connects with the West Bay Walkway.

Highrock Park

Highrock Park, like many of Victoria's little parks, is not an area of carefully cultivated flower beds, lawns and hedges but is rather a bit of the original landscape preserved. Right now Highrock Park is at its most beautiful and I defy any gardener to match its range and richness of color and form. The purple flowers below are Camas Lilies and give some idea of the lush palette that is on offer now.

Landscape 5 - Highrock Park - Garry Oaks

The wonderfully gnarled branches of Garry Oaks make great studies in winter but I am even more fond of the deep green of their leaves and the rich fissured texture of the bark on their trunks, especially on crackling hot summer days like this.

Landscape 1

In my recent forays into the wilder parts of Victoria in search of birds to photograph I always find myself captivated by the scenery though I often ignore it. However, lately I've been appreciating it a bit more and trying to explore landscape photography - in particular, the landscapes we have around here which are unique to this general area. What we are looking at in the above photo, for example, is a fairly typical Garry Oak Ecosystem scene. Wherever Victoria has not been built or paved over, this kind of landscape (or remnants of it) can be found. This photo was taken on the summit of Pkols (formerly known as Mount Douglas).

Highrock Park

I live quite close to this little park. It's the highest point of land in Esquimalt and offers good views overlooking Victoria and Esquimalt. And although it is well used by local citizens and their dogs, it continues to be a lush and fairly natural enclave of Garry Oak Ecosystem. At various times in the spring the slopes are richly carpeted with brilliant blue Camas Lilies and equally brilliant pink Sea Blush and many other wildflowers (such as the Satinflowers I posted a few days ago) are to be seen in season. One of the pleasures of living in Victoria is the presence of many small parks like this. Fern and I discover new ones every year, each with its own character.

Garry Oak Ecosystem

Highrock Cairn Park in Victoria West - our small local example of the Garry Oak Ecosystem - My favorite park at my favorite time of year.

Summit Park

This park is one of Victoria's hidden gems. From the corner of Quadra and Hillside, just 5 or 6 blocks north east, lies this lovely garry oak meadow. At this time of year the whole place is a sea of purple camas flowers and yellow buttercups. Quite a sight! - Fern

Swallow's Landing II

Yesterday's view of Victoria was taken from the terrace visible in the upper right of this photo. This rather ungainly looking stairway leads from the West Bay Walkway to the two Swallow's Landing condominium towers. While it is not the most attractive stairway, it was designed to protect and preserve the fragile ecosystem beneath and around it known as the Matson Conservation Area, the last remaining bit of the Garry Oak Ecosystem on the shoreline surrounding Victoria's Inner Harbour. This has been preserved in perpetuity by the developer of these condominiums. It's looking a bit frowzy now but this landscape always looks its best in the spring and early summer.