Oh Canada!

When we decided that Lee was coming to Buffalo with me, we started to research Niagara Falls.  Everything we read (and heard from friends) told us to visit the Canadian side of the Falls.  Not a problem for me with a valid passport, but Lee's expired sometime back in the 80s and he never bothered to renew it.  We visited our local post office to apply for his new one only three weeks before our departure -- surely it wouldn't come in time.  When a Priority package arrived in the mail the Saturday before our departure I didn't even think it could be his passport -- wrong again.  So I scheduled another vacation day and after our arrival in Buffalo we extended our stay at the Embassy Suites for another night.  Early Monday morning we packed up and departed -- destination Canada.  We sort of missed the turn-off that would get us to Rainbow Bridge and instead went a little further up on the highway (Lee calls this having an adventure...I call it not trusting the GPS) and crossed the border closer to Niagara-on-the-Lake.  Since everyone and their mother recommended we go there, including the border guard, we decided to head there first.  We took a nice route through the vineyards: 

 

And decided to stop for a wine tasting -- at 10am no less!  This was my first visit to a winery and we walked out with 2 bottles of wine and some nice snacks (we paid of course):

 

We drove on and hit Queen Street, the main drag through town.  There's a good reason Jim said he tried to keep any garden bloggers from seeing Niagara-on-the-Lake before Buffalo (he needn't have, they're both beautiful in their own way).  I almost veered off the road:

We quickly found a parking spot and promised ourselves we'd spend no more than an hour walking around.  That was going to be a tough promise to keep:

 

Lee patiently posed for me so I could show you how enormous the baskets on the streetlights were:

 

 

Can you see the man sitting on a bench on the right?  The plantings were insane: 

 

There were so many spots we would have loved to sit and grab a bite to eat, but we had a pretty big breakfast and it was barely 11am:

 

Seriously, the street is nicer than any part of my garden:

 

We mostly window-shopped because we had already thrown off the vacation budget by spending an extra night.  I, like most literate English-speaking women my age, am a huge Anne of Green Gables fan and have been since seeing the mini-series on PBS as a girl.  I squealed in delight when Lee spotted this one and pointed it out to me:

 

Each sight was more delightful than the last:

 

Seriously, could it be more charming:

 

It's only a few blocks long and yet not the same thing over and over:

 

Then we got to the hotel portion:

 

This is the Prince of Wales hotel and we want to go back and stay there some day:

 

It's like garden porn, isn't it:

 

Apparently this section is maintained by a contracted company and not the town, but I don't care:

 

I so wanted to have tea, but again, not hungry, and we still had the Falls to visit.  We had to be on the road home by 2pm or we'd be driving through unfamiliar territory in the dark:

 

Loved this fountain:

 

We'll be back again some day, hotel, don't worry:

 

This is for my friend Vanessa who recently reminded me of a certain party during our college years.  We will meet up to celebrate Canada Day again soon, I promise:

 

I covet these huge containers: 

 

I loved the purple fountain grass here:

 

Lee actually drew my attention to this huge stand of flowers crawling with bees.  I thought it was lavender (smelled like it), but my boss declared it to be Russian sage, and on-line photos seem to back her up.  Regardless before returning to the car (across the street by the yellow umbrellas) I decided to try and get some good shots of the bees:

 

I got tons, but these were the best of the bunch.  I was pretty happy with this one:

 

Better, but distracting business in the upper left corner:

 

Even better, but still that busy corner:

 

A little unbalanced in the composition, but interesting in flight photo:

 

This is looking pretty damn good, but it's not all that interesting:

 

Ah, this is the one.  Not even cropped:

 

And with that accomplished, we drove down to the Falls via the Niagara Parkway.  And a beautiful drive it was.  How could I not turn off when I saw a sign for a Floral Clock:

 

It was immense:

The back door was open so we walked in and saw the mechanism underneath.  So clear it was built in 1950 seeing this:

Even here by the gift shop the containers were beautiful:

 

And apparently my fascination with fish and water features from the previous day hadn't yet passed: 

 

But it was so pretty, how could I not photograph it:

 

As soon as Lee's passport arrived he started talking about visiting Canada.  For some reason he got on a kick of having all his food with maple syrup.  Imagine his delight upon finding this in the gift shop by the clock:

 

We drove on and finally caught our first glimpse of the Falls from the road.  Neither of us expected to be so awed.  We're kind of jaded travelers and thought we'd be underwhelmed.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We had to keep driving and pay $20 to park about a mile away, but it was totally worth it.  My photos weren't exactly impressive, but I came up with three that aren't too bad:

 

I like how the Maid of the Mist seems like a toy here, and the American side of the Falls is dead ahead:

 

That's the Bridal Falls on the right and I have no idea what the building on the left is:

Lee and I were absolutely enchanted and we plan to return some day and really have the full Falls experience.  Ride the Maid of the Mist, walk behind the Falls, and whatnot.  But we won't stay in the row of tacky hotels here full of kid-friendly activities, but instead in charming Niagara-on-the-Lake clearly built for adults. 

Comments

[Blackswampgirl Kim]

Oh wow! I had no idea it was all that gorgeous... now I definitely want to visit, too. (By the way, my favorite planter might just be the one out by the gift shop. Love the cardoon, dark sweet potato vine, etc.)

[Jim/ArtofGardening.org]

Niagara-on-the-Lake is a picture perfect little "bedroom community" of Toronto. It's only about 40 minutes from Buffalo (depending on bridge wait times), and we love it there. We much prefer taking guests there than Niagara Falls, Canada. The drive along the Canadian side of the border is gorgeous -- grand homes, the botanical gardens & butterfly conservatory, golf course, the Niagara Gorge, bike trails and wineries -- what's not to like? We even rode our bikes from Buffalo to Niagara-on-the-Lake (okay, I did it once just so I could say I did). I used to do the Maid of the Mist adverting & marketing - I designed their logo!

For an even better experience, I recommend, for people with the inclination, a hike along the Niagara Gorge from Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario along the Niagara river (on the U.S. side). I've hiked in great spots all over the world and the Niagara Parks trail cannot be beat.

Glad you enjoyed N-o-t-L, and the wineries!

[Heather's Garden]

Kim -- I'm with you, that was my favorite container too. You must make it up there some day.

Jim -- We promised ourselves a much longer visit next time so we can visit the botanical gardens and butterfly conservatory. I'm not so sure about hiking the Niagara Gorge, but we saw many people doing it and it looked like a spectacular view. Thanks again for recommending we visit Niagara-on-the-Lake. It made our brief trip to Canada into a highlight of the trip.

[Flatbush Gardener]

Garden porn, indeed!

[Susan Tomlinson]

My husband and I went to the Canadian side, too, but we completely missed Niagara on the Lake. I wish we'd seen it!

Wish I'd had some of that maple popcorn, too...

[Barbara]

Wow. I am REALLY regretting forgetting my passport - this is gorgeous!! Great pics and good info.

[Heather's Garden]

Kris -- I felt dirty.

Susan -- Next time you'll have to roll with us. We find the good stuff!

Barbara -- That's awful. I checked my bag 3 times to make sure both of our passports were there before we left the house. I just had this horrible feeling that we shelled out $100 for Lee's passport just for this trip and we would forget it.

[Monica at Garden Junkies]

I feel homesick! Well, sort of. I'm from Ottawa but have spent a lot of time showing visiting friends and family around the Niagara region - it's such a magical place (if you avoid the tacky tourist areas). I'm so glad you enjoyed your trip up there and got to see the beautiful side of things :-)

[meemsnyc]

Niagara on the Lake sounds so charming and lovely. Your photos really makes me want to book a flight right now! The last time I went to Niagara Falls was when I was 7. I think it's time for another visit!

[Heather's Garden]

Monica -- It's a beautiful area and we really didn't mind the tacky tourist areas, they can have their own charm, the teeming masses were more distressing to us.

Meemsnyc -- Go! You'll love it. Stay in Buffalo and drive up for a day or two. You'll love Buffalo too.