Saturday Photo: Getting Two for One in Montreal's Jardin botanique

Last week's Saturday Photo was Brother Marie-Victorin, the founder of Montreal's Jardin botanique, under the snow. This week two features of the garden are featured, which shows what you can get when you plan well.

The construction of the garden proceeded quickly once men with shovels were hired through make-work programs in the mid-1930s. One of the features that had long been planned was a large pond, and rather than haul away the dirt and stones they were moved a few hundred meters to the south to make a hill. The result is a most natural-looking mini-lake and a miniature mountain garden that is like a trip to the high country in the middle of the city.

The garden is a pleasure in all seasons, and an example of what can be accomplished when clever minds are put to work.

Note: These photos were taken several summers ago when I was working on my book Recreating Eden: A Natural History of Botanical Gardens which has a chapter about the Jardin botanique.