Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens

The Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens are located 10 minutes away from Niagara Falls in Ontario. The Butterfly Conservatory is on the grounds of the Gardens and it is also the location of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. After we went through the Butterfly Conservatory we wondered around the Gardens for a while. The Gardens cover 99 acres. We only covered a small portion as it was late in the afternoon. It was irrigation time, and so some of the areas we just enjoyed from a distance. These two photos show the sprinklers in the background.

Their rose garden is extensive, featuring 2,400 roses.

There was a huge variety, and each variety was planted in a large bed. The color and fragrance were spectacular.

Even though we were there September 15th many flowers were blooming. The hibiscus were lovely.

A great favorite of the bees was the stonecrop.

There were many trees and bushes that provided a beautiful green backdrop to the blooms.

The Hydrangea were still blooming. They've always been a favorite of mine.

The beautiful foliage added to the color of the Gardens. It was well worth a stroll through on a sunny afternoon.

Niagara Falls-Canada

Today we drove across the Rainbow Bridge into Canada to see Niagara Falls from the Canadian side. In order to get a good view of Horseshoe Falls you really need to see it from the Canadian side.

The water flowing over the edge is mesmerizing.

It forms a plume of mist that rises high into the sky.

You can also see the American and Bridal Veil Falls straight on.

The American Falls are shorter than Horseshoe, and the water cascades down onto huge boulders.

People have survived the fall over Horseshoe Falls, but because of the rocks no one would survive if they went over the American Falls.

The sight of these Falls must have been quite frightening to the first people who saw them when everything was a wilderness around them.

We had a lovely day in Canada viewing the Falls and then we visited the Butterfly Conservatory and the Botanical Gardens. I took a lot of photos and I will have more about them later, as well as some of the sights at Niagara Falls away from the water. Tonight we are staying at Lockport, New York, and tomorrow we are planning to go on a cruise on the Erie Canal.

Niagara Falls

We spent the day in Niagara Falls. What an amazing place! There were quite a few clouds, but the sun broke out often.

We were on the American side of the Falls today, which has the American and Bridal Veil Falls. The Horseshoe Falls are on the Canadian side.It doesn't matter which way you look at the Falls. The view is always incredibly beautiful and awe inspiring.

3,160 tons of water flow over the Falls every second, with 75,750 gallons of water per second over the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 681,750 gallons per second over the Horseshoe Falls.

The water falls at 32 feet per second over the Falls, hitting the base of the Falls with 280 tons of force at the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 2,509 tons of force at the Horseshoe Falls.

Tomorrow we plan to go over to the Canadian side. I took a lot of photos today, and I know I will take a lot more tomorrow. There are a lot of interesting things to see away from the water too. More in the next few days.