BY JANET STEINBERG
Richard
Of York Gave Battle In Vain (ROYGBIV). This mnemonic
(pronounced nemonic because the first “m” is silent) is a memory
device that will help you remember the colors of the rainbow… red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo
and violet. However, Mother Nature needs no
such device. She wears, and paints, these colors around the world 365
days a year. The following are some of her best renditions of those
colors.
BUTCHART
GARDENS located
on Vancouver Island is near the city Victoria,
BC, just off the mainland city of Vancouver. Victoria is the city known
as “The Sunshine City of Gardens”. During the summer months, a blaze
of blossoms in front of the magnificently domed BC Legislative Building, spell
out the words: “Welcome To Victoria”. Roses bloom at Christmas
and, in early March, tulips and daffodils are shipped all over Canada from this
area. There are flowers everywhere, but you haven’t seen anything
until you’ve seen Butchart Gardens.
GARDENS located
on Vancouver Island is near the city Victoria,
BC, just off the mainland city of Vancouver. Victoria is the city known
as “The Sunshine City of Gardens”. During the summer months, a blaze
of blossoms in front of the magnificently domed BC Legislative Building, spell
out the words: “Welcome To Victoria”. Roses bloom at Christmas
and, in early March, tulips and daffodils are shipped all over Canada from this
area. There are flowers everywhere, but you haven’t seen anything
until you’ve seen Butchart Gardens.
 |
| BUTCHART GARDENS |
Seeing is
believing at Butchart Gardens, and it’s hard to believe that this explosion of
blossoms and manicured lawns was once an abandoned limestone quarry.
Butchart’s incredible gardens are rated among the most beautiful in the
world. Flowers in a rainbow of brilliant colors have transformed a rocky
quarry into a magnificent Sunken Garden. Lacquered bridges cross tiny streams
in the serene authentic Japanese Garden and just beyond the Star Pond is the
formal Italian Garden. In ever-changing patterns of movement and color,
fountains jet to heights of eighty feet. Waterfalls cascade down steep walls
and, on spring and fall evenings, the gardens sparkle under an extensive and
spectacular illumination system. Striking displays of floral splendor,
accented by hundreds of hidden lights, transform the gardens into a veritable
fairyland.
believing at Butchart Gardens, and it’s hard to believe that this explosion of
blossoms and manicured lawns was once an abandoned limestone quarry.
Butchart’s incredible gardens are rated among the most beautiful in the
world. Flowers in a rainbow of brilliant colors have transformed a rocky
quarry into a magnificent Sunken Garden. Lacquered bridges cross tiny streams
in the serene authentic Japanese Garden and just beyond the Star Pond is the
formal Italian Garden. In ever-changing patterns of movement and color,
fountains jet to heights of eighty feet. Waterfalls cascade down steep walls
and, on spring and fall evenings, the gardens sparkle under an extensive and
spectacular illumination system. Striking displays of floral splendor,
accented by hundreds of hidden lights, transform the gardens into a veritable
fairyland.
 |
| CASCADING WATERFALLS AT BUTCHART GARDENS |
A magical
outing to the LAGUNA SAN RAFAEL GLACIER is one of the most breathtaking
sites in South America…a kaleidoscope of the stunning artistry of Mother
Nature. This awesome wall of ice was a brilliant spectacle played out in
hues of blue and white. The thundering chunks of ice that calved into the
lake might well have been crystal sculptures by Lalique, or a pate de verre
gem executed by Daum Crystal. Magnifico!
outing to the LAGUNA SAN RAFAEL GLACIER is one of the most breathtaking
sites in South America…a kaleidoscope of the stunning artistry of Mother
Nature. This awesome wall of ice was a brilliant spectacle played out in
hues of blue and white. The thundering chunks of ice that calved into the
lake might well have been crystal sculptures by Lalique, or a pate de verre
gem executed by Daum Crystal. Magnifico!
 |
| LAGUNA SAN RAPHAEL GLACIER |
LA VALENCIA
HOTEL’S colorful pink
and green garden looks as if it were ripped off the page of a vibrant preppy
Lilly Pulitzer clothing ad. La Jolla, (pronounced la HOY-uh), meaning
“the jewel” in Spanish, is a many-faceted, picture-postcard jewel hugging seven
miles of California coastline some 25 minutes north of San Diego.
Legendary sunsets are said to be a daily occurrence.
HOTEL’S colorful pink
and green garden looks as if it were ripped off the page of a vibrant preppy
Lilly Pulitzer clothing ad. La Jolla, (pronounced la HOY-uh), meaning
“the jewel” in Spanish, is a many-faceted, picture-postcard jewel hugging seven
miles of California coastline some 25 minutes north of San Diego.
Legendary sunsets are said to be a daily occurrence.
 |
| LILLY PULITZER-LIKE GARDEN IN LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA |
Mother nature
doesn’t need an ocean to show off her artistry. A hotel pond, like the
one at the HAMILTON PRINCESS BERMUDA, can do the job nicely. Ablaze in
orange, the koi fish seemed to be enjoying their stay at the Hamilton
Princess. And why shouldn’t they? This palatial “Pink Palace”, the
reigning Grande Dame of Bermuda hotels, is Bermuda’s oldest hotel (1885).
Named in honor of Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, the Hamilton
Princess has been the hotel of choice for discriminating guests including
Mark Twain, Sir Winston Churchill, and Prince Charles.
doesn’t need an ocean to show off her artistry. A hotel pond, like the
one at the HAMILTON PRINCESS BERMUDA, can do the job nicely. Ablaze in
orange, the koi fish seemed to be enjoying their stay at the Hamilton
Princess. And why shouldn’t they? This palatial “Pink Palace”, the
reigning Grande Dame of Bermuda hotels, is Bermuda’s oldest hotel (1885).
Named in honor of Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, the Hamilton
Princess has been the hotel of choice for discriminating guests including
Mark Twain, Sir Winston Churchill, and Prince Charles.
 |
| KOI AT THE HAMILTON PRINCESS BERMUDA |
PEYTO LAKE, on the Icefields Parkway that links
Jasper & Lake Louise, is, one of the most brilliantly colored lakes
in the Rockies. The extraordinary turquoise hue of this lake is due to
fine particles of silt that comes from the run-off of melting glaciers.
This silt, called rock flour, remains suspended in the water and reflects the
light. Thus the water appears to be brightly colored. Since the
tint of the water varies with the amount of rock flour, the color of a lake can
change during the season. It depends on the melt rate of the source
glacier.
Jasper & Lake Louise, is, one of the most brilliantly colored lakes
in the Rockies. The extraordinary turquoise hue of this lake is due to
fine particles of silt that comes from the run-off of melting glaciers.
This silt, called rock flour, remains suspended in the water and reflects the
light. Thus the water appears to be brightly colored. Since the
tint of the water varies with the amount of rock flour, the color of a lake can
change during the season. It depends on the melt rate of the source
glacier.
 |
| TURQUOISE PEYTO LAKE |
As shown in all of the above photos, Mother Nature wears
her colors, and paints her pictures, in a myriad of colors. But none are
more universal, and more perfect, than when she yields her brush to paint a
sunset. She does this around the world every day, as the trailing edge of the Sun’s disk disappears below the horizon. The FORTALEZA BRAZIL
SUNSET below creates intense
orange, yellow and red colors of the sun and surrounding sky as it prepares to
sink below the horizon.
her colors, and paints her pictures, in a myriad of colors. But none are
more universal, and more perfect, than when she yields her brush to paint a
sunset. She does this around the world every day, as the trailing edge of the Sun’s disk disappears below the horizon. The FORTALEZA BRAZIL
SUNSET below creates intense
orange, yellow and red colors of the sun and surrounding sky as it prepares to
sink below the horizon.
 |
| PERFECT SUNSET IN FORTALEZA, BRAZIL |
JANET
STEINBERG is the winner of 43 national Travel Writing Awards and is a Travel
Consultant with THE TRAVEL AUTHORITY in Mariemont, Ohio.
STEINBERG is the winner of 43 national Travel Writing Awards and is a Travel
Consultant with THE TRAVEL AUTHORITY in Mariemont, Ohio.