Part I - Mosaiculture - Montreal

We have recently returned for a weekend with two of my sisters and their significant others.  First, we gathered at my sister Robin's home outside of Burlington, Vermont.  It's such a beautiful part of our country! The following day, we all drove up, over the Canadian border to the Quebec city of Montreal.  While I have been to Canada numerous times, I have never been to Montreal.  Seeing and hearing French everywhere was a wonderful experience!

The purpose of our trip was to visit the Mosaicultures Internationales at the Botanical Gardens.  Fortunately, the prediction of a 80% chance of rain never came to be!  I know that I use the word "amazing" a lot in this blog - and I promise to come up with some alternatives in the future - but for now - I'm just going to say that this trip was amazing!

"Mosaiculture is a refined horticultural art that involves creating and mounting living artworks made primarily from plants with colourful foliage (generally annuals, and occasionally perennials). The colourful two- and three-dimensional drawings, designs, sculptures and reliefs thus created employ a wide variety of flora. This multifaceted and complex discipline, an ornamental art, draws on numerous practices: on sculpture for its structure and volume, on painting for its palette, and on horticulture in its use of plants in a living, constantly changing environment. Mosaiculture should be distinguished from topiary, which features mostly shrubs pruned to create different shapes."
http://www.mosaiculturesinternationales.ca/en/about/

"The Man Who Planted Trees"

"The International Mosaiculture event is back in Montréal after a ten-year absence. Around 50 stunning works created by horticulturist-artists from 25 countries will be displayed at the Botanical Garden from June 22 to September 29, 2013.

These striking plant sculptures will line a spectacular 2.2 km path through the heart of the Botanical Garden. The Montréal Botanical Garden has been offering its millions of visitors an unforgettable experience for over 80 years. The mosaiculture sculptures will complement its vast collection of 22,000 plant species and cultivars, some thirty thematic outdoor gardens, cultural gardens, Tree House and 10 exhibition greenhouses." http://calendrier.espacepourlavie.ca/mosaicultures-internationalesr-en

I am going to divide our trip into three separate posts over the next week and a half.  The first two will be devoted to the sculptures, with the third covering the flowers that we saw along the way!

"All in a Row"  The lemurs of Madagascar - because of deforestation on the Island, nearly 90% of lemurs are faced with extinction.

"Water, Source of Life"  The work represents water's importance to man, flora, fauna, and the planet as a whole.

"The Living City" Representing Ville-Marie, the economic, tourism and cultural hub of Montreal.

"Coexistence" Symbolically represents the Korean city of Busan, which has made it a priority to maintain harmony between development and conservation.

"The Family Tree"  A tribute to family, which is the foundation of our society.

"The Man Who Planted Trees" It represents the positive impact that man can have on his environment.

"The Man Who Planted Trees" 

"The Man Who Planted Trees" 

"The Insect's Garden" More than one-third of the fruits and vegetables that we eat come from a pollenating event involving an animal - either an insect, bird or other.

"Fragile Frogs" As with all amphibians, frog populations are in decline all over the world.  Habitat destruction, chemical pollution, deteriorating ozone layer, as well as a disease caused by a fungus - all threaten the extinction of more than a third of the species.

"Fragile Frogs"

 "A True Story" This took place in China in the late 1980's. Xu Xu Juan, a girl born in a city in northern China, had loved red-crowned cranes since childhood.  After graduating, she travelled far to Yangcheng Nature Reserve to care for these cranes.  One day, when she tried to save an injured crane, she slipped into a swamp.  The crane was saved, but the girl never came up to the surface again.

 "A True Story"

"A True Story"

"Hachiko, the Loyal Dog"  Inspired by a true story, Haichiko belonged to Hidesabro Ueno, a professor.  He would accompany his master to the train station and wait patiently for his return each day.  One day, his master died at work.  Haichiko went on to wait for him at the train station for the next 10 years.

"Hamamatsu, City of Creativity:  Looking Forward to the Future Through a Symbiosis of Man and Nature"

"A Dove for Peace" This works depicts a dove, a recognizable symbol of peace. Each year, on August 6, the mayor of Hiroshima reads the Declaration of Peace and then thousands of doves are released, bearing wishes for peace to the heavens.

"Little Turtle Making the Sun" The turtle is a powerful symbol in Aboriginal culture: it is associated with the creation of the world.

 "Neat the City of Gold" This work depicts each aspect of bio-diversity through its use of mosses and lichens.  Abitibi, an area in northern Canada, has the largest acreage of vegetation in the country.

"In the City of Gold"

 "Guardians of the Island" - Easter Island

"Guardians of the Island"

Tune in Saturday for Part II of this fabulous trip!