Randomly Canadian on July 1st

Happy Canada Day! Huffington Post has an article titled "20 Random Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Canada."  I declare on July 1st that these could only be random to citizens of the United States.  Here are Four:   Queen Elizabeth II is Canada’s official Head of State.  The Canadian government has declared Santa as a Canadian citizen. In fact, you can mail your letter to the North Pole in any language (including Braille), and his trusted elves will answer them all. Yes, all 1.5 million of them. Hockey and lacrosse are Canada’s national sports. There are more donut shops per capita in Canada than any other country in the world. But who’s saying that’s a bad thing? You can read the others HERE.  These four topiaries are in a garden in St. Catharines.  Three sisters and a presiding grandmother. We can't miss out on a Maple Leaf today - here it is  - this photo in Winnipeg last year by Dan Harper at danharper.com

Return with a Shrubbery

Ladew, in Maryland,  is considered the 'most outstanding' topiary garden in North America, and one of 10 incredible topiary gardens around the world.   I think the (Monty Python) Knight would have definitely passed if he'd returned with this one - all those peaks and rows in formation. The picture below was a topiary found in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the beginning of August - a delight of whimsy.

The Statuary

This is another of the Niagara-on-the-Lake gardens that the garden bloggers visited. It was also on the Shaw Festival Garden Tour.  This garden wants to be named 'The Statuary' to me.  Even the buildings are formal like statues.  It took a while before everyone finished walking around and we then got our shots of the garden with all its elements. As we walked down Johnson Street to the next garden, this little topiary display caught our attention.  It too is a statuary - this one full of whimsy and charm.

What Makes Ladew Run?

Ladew Topiary Gardens in Maryland are all about topiary and flowers.  Last year it was voted amongst eh top 10 favourite gardens in North America.  This is the picture of Ladew that most  represents the garden - the hunter, hours and fox.  For those of you who want to know what the Readers Choice top gardens are: Longwood Gardens - Kennett Square, Pa. Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden - Richmond, Va. Butchart Gardens - Victoria, B.C. Callaway Gardens - Pine Mountain, Ga. Chicago Botanic Garden - Chicago Cheekwood Botanical Garden - Nashville Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens - Boothbay, Maine Missouri Botanical Garden - St. Louis Portland Japanese Garden - Portland, Ore. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden - Miami