Rockway Gardens Beauty PhotoWalk #1

On Sunday, August 19th, 2018 the weather was nice enough to go for a PhotoWalk, but the buses that would take me where I was wanting to go for a walk because it is Sunday. I thought about it during the church service and realized that I had not been to Rockway Gardens in quite a long time. And there are buses that take me there any day of the week. I just discovered that it is almost four years ago that I was there last.

So it was about time that I went there again to do some photography. After church I came home, had lunch, got my things that I need to take the rest of the day to get photos and spend time doing it. I took along my leftovers from lunch, as well as coffee and headed out to get photos. So I invite you to come along with me and we'll start our walk through Rockway Gardens, starting at the Rockway Centre.

While I was waiting for the first bus I saw some flowers by the houses right near the bus stop.

Asters are part of the flower bed that I saw as I got off the bus at the Rockway Centre and crossed the street.

This is flowerbed I saw as I came across the street.

This is a different angle of the same flowerbed.

More asters.

There were elephant ears in that flowerbed as well.

After walking down the street that is shown on the right in the photo above, I found some beautiful Hibiscus plants hidden away in a spot I would have missed had I gone the other way around to go through the gardens.

I have visited the Rockway Gardens most of my life and didn't know that there is a Pottery Shed, not until Sunday afternoon. Talk about finding new things in my life.

These flowers are a small brightening aspect to the corner where they are blooming. They brighten the corner where they are planted.

There will be more blooms in a few days if these buds are anything to go by.

As I was sitting on my walker and looking around I spotted this birch tree and took several pictures of it.

I have started taking selfies of myself with things that make a nice background, partly so I can say, "I was here."

These flowers make a nice decoration where they are.

Still more asters.

Once I crossed the part of Charles Street that runs beside the gardens, I saw this scene to my left.

Another selfie with that as my background.

I saw this view of the hibiscus bush through between the buildings across Charles Street.

This sign is at the corner of Delta Street and Charles Street. I had never seen it before.

A flowerbed with daisies is at the corner of Delta Street and Floral Crescent.

I saw this view through this birch tree and just had to get a shot of it.

This flowerbed was what I saw through the birch tree.

I liked this structure from a distance, but even more so as I approached it.

This sky was one of the reasons I came out on Sunday to take photos.

A flower hanger that hangs in the wooden structure.

A flower hanger that hangs in the wooden structure.

Just beyond the large round flowerbed is a rectangular flowerbed with daisies in it.

One of my favourite flowers are Joseph's Coats and these are right by this structure.

A closeup of the corner of the structure.

 The end of the structure is right here and below is the whole structure.

Some marigolds in one of the flowerbeds.

The rectangular flowerbed.

Looking through the structure from north to south.

The other side of the structure with a memorial stone in the grass.

The memorial stone that is in the grass in front of the structure.

And a close up of the flowers in the rectangular flowerbed.

There is a flowerbed in the middle of the gardens that has a Calla Lily in the centre.

I was sitting in the shade of this tree when I took this picture of the structure.

On the far side of the garden there is a bench under some trees. In this light I almost missed seeing it.

A closer shot of the Calla Lily.

Another angle of the Calla Lily.

I'm not sure what the green stuff is in the middle of the flowerbed here. It almost looks like Kale.

I had never seen this end of the Rockway Gardens, or at least not for years. I sure didn't have an idea that there were tables here with a checker/chess board painted on the top. They are also in the shade and a great spot to rest and eat or have a coffee. That was what I did both Sunday and Monday.

One of the things in this photo is the garbage can that is positioned in a somewhat hidden location. It is also reasonably close to the tables.

From where I was sitting I spotted the decorative fountains.

To the right, among the trees, there is a bench that would have a great background for a photo shoot for whatever reason one would have a photo shoot done.

While I was sitting at the table, I texted with a friend and she asked me if I could help her out with something. I decided to do so, but took a bunch of pictures before I headed out to do so.

After my interruption on Sunday I decided to return on Monday, but earlier than on Sunday. My journey began just after 9am and I decided to take the same route I had on Sunday with a bit of a different direction around the gardens than I had on Sunday. The first part is the same as Sunday, but Monday I went out onto Preston Street instead of going across the grass. It was harder going across the grass, but a little less dangerous than walking on the street. It is a shame that there is no sidewalk down the side of the street there.

These flowers are in the flowerbed that I saw Sunday and also Monday when I came across King Street at the Rockway Centre. The sky was quite cloudy and didn't make for as beautiful photos as with a blue sky with white clouds. However, my main goal was to take photos of the beautiful grounds and flowers.

This is the birch tree I saw on Sunday, but at a different angle.

I took a picture of the Pottery Shed from a different angle on Monday.

The hibiscus looked as if they had been rained on, but I'm guessing that they had been watered by the sprinkler system that is all around the gardens.

Even the daisies looked perkier on Monday.

Coming across Charles Street I got a completely different angle of the sign at this end of the gardens. I also saw some beautiful flowers in the bed surrounding it that I didn't see on Sunday.

This is a different angle of the birch trees I took a shot up the gardens through on Sunday.

Here I was looking toward the Rockway Golf Course.

A blue spruce makes a lovely statue at the end of the gardens.

These daisies are the ones in the flowerbed that I took a clear shot of on Sunday.

Looking up the gardens from in front of the Blue Spruce.

This time, coming up the gardens I went to the right instead of the left. There had been people on that side on Sunday. This maple tree attracted me to this side on Monday.

I like the frame that this maple is to the structure.

This is a different angle of the flowerbed than the ones I took on Sunday.

And here I'm coming around the right or south side of the structure.

I saw different scenery this time as well.

I love the umbrella that these leaves seem to represent to me.

It is harder to take photos when the sky is blah, but the editing helps.

Here are a couple of panorama shots of the structure.

And a shot from the right side of the structure.

I took a whole bunch of different closeups of the daisies.

A shot of the structure and the round flowerbed.

Looking back at the structure across the rectangular flowerbed.

I think this is a crab apple tree.

This bench is much more visible in this morning light.

I'm not sure if this is a calla lily flower.

And some marigolds.

Looking up the driveway to the Rockway Golf Course.

I love these lamps in the park.

Another shot of this diagonal flowerbed.

This picture is of the bench that I had taken a photo of yesterday with different skies behind it.

I stopped here at the tables again to have coffee and a snack to keep up my strength.

There are four pillars at the edges of the gardens part where the two fountains are.

Looking at the tables.

Now that I'm refreshed, with my coffee in my hand, I am headed up to the fountains.

I have never noticed the decorations under the fountain until Monday and so I took some closeup shots of this feature.

Looking each way from the fountain I see a lot of this tall grass stuff.

There are also benches by each fountain and make it a location that one can sit down to relax and watch the fountain or just think about life and God.

The base of the fountain from a different angle.

Celosia or Cockscomb flowers that are in the flowerbed between the two fountains.

Looking up to the smaller fountain.

I don't know what kind of plant this is but there are several around the gardens.

Closer to the smaller fountain.

Looking out over the far gardens.

And down to the larger fountain.

Out over the lawns.

Then the small fountain again. The problem with it is that the arch behind it is not centred the way it should be.

Then back down the gardens toward Delta Street.

Once I'd gone through the arch I took a number more photos surrounding the area and headed towards the eastern end of the gardens.

This evergreen branch made a frame for the flowerbed just ahead.

A couple of flowerbeds to take photos of before proceeding eastward.

And up ahead I see a bench with a stone in front of it.

This memorial stone was right in the midst of three oak trees.

This memorial stone was the one by the bench a couple of photos ago.

As you can see, there is a lot more to be seen in the Rockway Gardens, and I still have a lot of editing to do before I can share the rest of the pictures and take you further through a beautiful spot in my home city.