Chicago

In Ottawa in summer, spreading trees shade the walking paths along the rivers and canal that wind their away through the city.  Throughout the city, parks are green islands of lawn with benches for resting under trees.  And dotting the city streets are wide planters filled with colorful foliage and sprinkled with flowers.

Near our our hotel, plants with colorful foliage are planted in low concrete planters.

Elephant ears, coleus and impatiens make a cheerful arrangement.

A foursquare of concrete planters fill up this wide span of pavers.  Strappy black foliage underplanted with rounded orange flowers add drama.


This brought to mind the container gardens in downtown Chicago, where I visited in late fall two years ago.

 

 

On Sunday morning, we met family for Mass at Holy Name Cathedral downtown.  In Chicago in early December, the trees along the street had already lost their leaves.

Flowers and foliage were in short supply, but near the Cathedral, large containers were decorated with a mix of cut pine and spruce, and twigs from deciduous trees.

In the alcove of a business building, four grey containers filled with red and green reminded pedestrians that Christmas was coming.

The wind was cold and damp in Chicago and it cut through our coats, yet a single rose bloomed in a small garden along a city street.

Cold or not, when I heard the song of a brown sparrow, it made me smile.

Ottawa

Last night I returned from a 5 day vacation in Ottawa, Canada.  We stayed at the grand old hotel in the heart of the city, built over 100 years ago, next to Parliament.  Without a car, I did not make it to the arboretum, but there were plenty of green spaces in downtown Ottawa.

The Chateau Laurier is on a major downtown thoroughfare, near museums, government buildings, war memorials, restaurants and shops. 

It backs up to one of the many parks downtown, Major Park.

Also from Major Park, visitors can see the Canadian Parliament buildings.  You can sense where Parliament Hill got its name.

Major Park has wide lawns and beautiful plantings.  Many of the trees are native.  The hostas are massive, as they often are in colder climates.

Both Parliament and the Chateau Laurier are along on the Ottawa River, and a paved path winds for miles along the shore where walkers can see islands and rapids.

The city of Ottawa is in Ontario, but across the river is the province of Quebec. 

Between the Chateau Laurier and Parliament flows the Rideau Canal, a shady space for strolling.

Bridges cross the canal.  This one near the Chateau Laurier shows the distant hills of Quebec under the arch.

On higher ground along the canal is a bike path that is used by joggers during the midday hours.

The bike path along the Rideau Canal passes Confederate Park.  Confederate means one thing to American Southerners, but to Canadians, it refers to joining provinces as a country.

Of the many green spaces in downtown Ottawa, the most visited is the lawn in front of the Parliament Building, during the changing of the guard. 

We saw the changing of the guard twice on our trip to Ottawa, during our first and last days there.  Both times, it started raining on the crowd.

It rained often during our trip to Canada, but we did not mind.  The rain keeps the city lush and green and shows off the architecture of the beautiful old gray buildings.