Vancouver (Day 3)

Today was mostly educational sessions in the morning. We had some good speakers that were quite inspirational and their passion was evident. I met some new people and went through the trade show which included many catalogs. I have no shortage of new catalogs for looking at the 2014 "eye candy". In the afternoon, we toured Vancouver briefly (taking photos like those below) and had plenty of opportunity to photograph so much greenery in this vibrant urban center. We then took a quick ferry (see further below) to Granville Island which has a long history (a World Fair site) but is now full of restaurants, shops, an active concrete factory and a huge indoor market. Above is the view from the island looking back at Vancouver proper. Some of the other destinations and features are indicated further below under the images. We'll be gone on another full day tour of area nurseries, some private gardens and two botanic Minter Botanic Garden which should be cool.

crazy busy at the market (on at Tuesday!)

cut flowers at the market

dragon fruit (weird)

cherry "pyramids" ready for purchase

another view from Granville island back at a bridge heading North in to Vancouver

thousands of apartments (some of the most expensive in the world, literally), note the mini-ferry (the same one we used)

The Urban Garden, seen above and below, was an awesome stop as we saw all their tools, plants and other goodies. Above and below depict the border in front of their store. We had a great chat with their staff (thanks Nadia!) and I think they do an interesting business and seemed to be quite busy and a popular destination. Their garden center looked like a garden center you would find anywhere except they had some very trendy containers and a wide range of women's fashion which is apparently becoming more popular as an offering (and revenue generator...)