Often, a mid-winter trip to the Westmount greenhouse was undertaken by my father. In his teenage years, his family lived on Sherbrooke Street in Westmount and the greenhouse was a nearby free attraction to enjoy.
The heat and humidity of the greenhouse - as we came in from the dry cold winter air outside - was one of the most striking aspects of the experience. The concentrated perfumes of the flowers and the earthy smell of the 'flower hills' were also unique experiences of this type of excursion.
Once again, the shortcomings of the Ektachrome slide processing of that period result in blue and green pigments dropping out completely in some of the photos. Many slides have a red-brown cast which cannot be removed.
This is the view one would see looking roughly southeast from Sherbrooke Street.
While the towering flowers and plants were unusual and intimidating for a three-year-old,
I always enjoyed looking down to watch the goldfish.
(I don't think they were fancy enough to be called Koi.)
I would have been happy to have spent more time watching them.
* * *
Easter Display, March 1961
