The Great Canadian Skyline Thread! II

[DancingDuck]

Looking north towards portage+main


Along on the Assiniboine river

[craner]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

First picture with my brand new camera Not bad for 100 km/h on a bumpy highway!


Sarcee Skyline by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Brookfield will be placed perfectly from this vantage point.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

First picture with my brand new camera Not bad for 100 km/h on a bumpy highway!


Sarcee Skyline by Chadillaccc, on Flickr

Thanks for posting this, Chad.

I am quite envious of Calgary's urban forest, which has a healthy presence of evergreens. In Halifax, the vast majority of the peninsula's urban forest (outside of Point Pleasant Park) is deciduous: so during the winter, parts of the city can look quite bare. I've noticed, though, that many cities in North America focus on broadleaded trees.

Does Calgary intentionally landscape with conifers?
Confiers should be Calgary's thing!

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

I am quite envious of Calgary's urban forest, which has a healthy presence of evergreens. In Halifax, the vast majority of the peninsula's urban forest (outside of Point Pleasant Park) is deciduous: so during the winter, parts of the city can look quite bare. I've noticed, though, that many cities in North America focus on broadleaded trees.

Does Calgary intentionally landscape with conifers?
Confiers should be Calgary's thing!

Oh Jesus God, seriously? I honestly never thought I would hear someone say something like this.

There is nothing I hate more than evergreen trees. Probably most people don't have a strong opinion about them, but I actively loathe them. They're a depressing signifier of coldness, bleakness and barrenness. They're uniformly gloomy and dreadful. And ugly.

Deciduous trees are glorious. They're the arboreal component in a rich and colourful growth tapestry that includes a wide range of flowers and plants which make summer and fall glorious. And which you can't grow in places where evergreens predominate.

I'll take bare maple trees in winter any day over a forest or street full of evergreens. I suppose I'm accustomed to being in the northern reaches of the Carolinian forest here in southern Ontario, but it probably has more to do with being in denial about being a Canadian living in a cold country. Having lots of evergreens means you're that much closer to the end of the treeline. I don't want any more reminders of the fact that it gets below 0 degrees in winter here, thank you very much.

I don't think I'm alone in having this opinion, though. It probably explains why certain Canadians are so intent on growing palm trees in places that would not normally have them.

[someone123]

I think it depends on the type of tree. Aspens are deciduous for example but I associate them with alpine or northern areas. California Redwoods are coniferous but I don't think of them as northern. Some conifers like the Norfolk Pine are basically tropical.

[Chadillaccc]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Oh Jesus God, seriously? I honestly never thought I would hear someone say something like this.

There is nothing I hate more than evergreen tre... blah blah

LOL! Da fuck did I just read?

[Razor]

^Rousseau you are really dissapointing me...From what I gather you are a cyclist, and by sheer default a sort of outdoorsy type of person..There is just nothing quite like mountain biking through a trail amongst evergreens and pine cones and, (mosquitos aside) taking in the smell of the pine trees...Same with boating down a lake..Evergreens on a lake just add to the back drop more so than a deciduous forest IMO..Winter snow shoeing through a coniferous forest is the best!. Now obviously I'm just teasing, but I'm trying to be earnest at the same time..

[Dwils01]

Amazing pictures everyone, our cities look great.
It's been a good year for construction in this country, so much I had trouble keeping up with it all. Looking forward to the new projects starting next year.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Razor

^Rousseau you are really dissapointing me...From what I gather you are a cyclist, and by sheer default a sort of outdoorsy type of person..There is just nothing quite like mountain biking through a trail amongst evergreens and pine cones and, (mosquitos aside) taking in the smell of the pine trees...Same with boating down a lake..Evergreens on a lake just add to the back drop more so than a deciduous forest IMO..Winter snow shoeing through a coniferous forest is the best!. Now obviously I'm just teasing, but I'm trying to be earnest at the same time..

I'm actually a road cyclist, so it's all tarmac for me. But sure, I can appreciate what you're saying about the mountain biking and all that.

But for cities? Streets full of evergreen trees? Ugh, the horror...that's just bleak and depressing.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by someone123

I think it depends on the type of tree. Aspens are deciduous for example but I associate them with alpine or northern areas. California Redwoods are coniferous but I don't think of them as northern. Some conifers like the Norfolk Pine are basically tropical.

Sure, but in a Canadian context evergreens generally signify cold and barrenness. Which is why I can't get excited about the Rockies, to be honest. I didn't grow up with mountains around here, and then spent a long period of my life on a tropical island with one, two and three-thousand-metre mountains covered in tropical vegetation (oranges and betelnut on the lower end, tea leaves farther up) with narrow twisting roads lining them, so my ideal for mountains is more tropical like this:



Which is obviously totally off-topic, but it's Christmas.

[Razor]

ahh o.k I see what you mean..Ya, a forest full of evergreens surrounding a lake is one thing, but a big NO to planters of jack pines and spruces in a downtown core..Totally agree. Makes me wonder if evergreens would be considered exotic enough to be potted and set downtown in some far off locale in the world.

[RyeJay]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Oh Jesus God, seriously? I honestly never thought I would hear someone say something like this.

There is nothing I hate more than evergreen trees.

Probably most people don't have a strong opinion about them, but I actively loathe them. They're a depressing signifier of coldness, bleakness and barrenness. They're uniformly gloomy and dreadful. And ugly.

Deciduous trees are glorious. They're the arboreal component in a rich and colourful growth tapestry that includes a wide range of flowers and plants which make summer and fall glorious. And which you can't grow in places where evergreens predominate.

I'll take bare maple trees in winter any day over a forest or street full of evergreens. I suppose I'm accustomed to being in the northern reaches of the Carolinian forest here in southern Ontario, but it probably has more to do with being in denial about being a Canadian living in a cold country. Having lots of evergreens means you're that much closer to the end of the treeline. I don't want any more reminders of the fact that it gets below 0 degrees in winter here, thank you very much.

I don't think I'm alone in having this opinion, though. It probably explains why certain Canadians are so intent on growing palm trees in places that would not normally have them.

You'd prefer no colour during the winter, instead? Certain types of trees are just such horrible reminders of bleak winters for you that you'd rather... go through bleaker?
To each their own, I suppose.

As a landscaper, I've never really taken these sort of associations into consideration. If I were to create a space that would be open during the winter, the backbone of the planting scheme would be evergreens, highlighted with some forms of white birch, contrasted with any number of bushes baring red 'bark', and flaunted with a selection of blue spruces.

I can't believe you hate evergreens!!! There are far too many options you're saying no to.

Colour. Texture. Size.
I haven't thought in terms of ......"eww, it looks like winter."

Maybe you hate evergreens because they look like naked Christmas trees?

Calgary's urban forest is beautiful. It's natural looking. Having a landscape that's mostly or completely broadleafed isn't even characteristic of the more temperate climates to our south.

Are we trying to pretend we live in tropical cities, or something?

[Symz]

I don't mind evergreens, but in this neck of the woods they are very scarce. It's predominantly Carolinian forest here. I kind of agree with Rousseau I also associate conifers with more northerly latitudes, mainly because I don't start seeing them much until I get near Toronto, or north.

[mistercorporate]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Oh Jesus God, seriously? I honestly never thought I would hear someone say something like this.

There is nothing I hate more than evergreen trees. Probably most people don't have a strong opinion about them, but I actively loathe them. They're a depressing signifier of coldness, bleakness and barrenness. They're uniformly gloomy and dreadful. And ugly.

Deciduous trees are glorious. They're the arboreal component in a rich and colourful growth tapestry that includes a wide range of flowers and plants which make summer and fall glorious. And which you can't grow in places where evergreens predominate.

I'll take bare maple trees in winter any day over a forest or street full of evergreens. I suppose I'm accustomed to being in the northern reaches of the Carolinian forest here in southern Ontario, but it probably has more to do with being in denial about being a Canadian living in a cold country. Having lots of evergreens means you're that much closer to the end of the treeline. I don't want any more reminders of the fact that it gets below 0 degrees in winter here, thank you very much.

I don't think I'm alone in having this opinion, though. It probably explains why certain Canadians are so intent on growing palm trees in places that would not normally have them.

Thank god! I thought I was the only one. I get so envious of the deciduous stock in the Niagara region...very charming. Every time I drive through the GTA's mixed deciduous/coniferous stock I wonder why we don't have policies in place to rip up the 30% of trees which are conifers and replace them with more attractive varieties.

[vanman]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

LOL! Da fuck did I just read?

Haha this is exactly what I was thinking.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

The skyline is huge by Canadian standards About 2 km N-S, and 3 KM E-W.

Thanks! It's a Samsung WB800F with 21x zoom and adapted for 42x zoom. Basically a point-and-shoot on steroids.

Thanks! I might just get one of those next time.

[Chadillaccc]

I definitely recommend it. They market it as a "Smart Camera" and from what I have seen from playing around with it, it really is. I can actually email pics to people right after taking them, emailing them directly from the camera. Lots more cool stuff like that. Plus the lens angle is remarkably wide for a point-and-shoot. I can get an entire Christmas tree in a shot standing only 4 or 5 feet from the tree, for instance.

Originally Posted by vanman

Haha this is exactly what I was thinking.

Lmao! Yeah I couldn't think of any other response! Just absurd.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by RyeJay

You'd prefer no colour during the winter, instead? Certain types of trees are just such horrible reminders of bleak winters for you that you'd rather... go through bleaker?
To each their own, I suppose.

Obviously we're in the realm of personal preference. But bare trees aren't really bleak to me, and I find maximizing the visual environment in summer and fall more important than any perceived green benefit during winter.

Originally Posted by RyeJay

Maybe you hate evergreens because they look like naked Christmas trees?

Calgary's urban forest is beautiful. It's natural looking. Having a landscape that's mostly or completely broadleafed isn't even characteristic of the more temperate climates to our south.

I like the foliage and colour of deciduous trees. The Carolinian forest. I can't believe this is even an argument. Look at classic streets in Brooklyn with their tree canopies. You're trying to tell me that evergreens compare to that?

Are we trying to pretend we live in tropical cities, or something?

Yes. It's currently -10 here, and the winter so far has been the coldest in living memory, but I'm trying to pretend I'm living in a tropical environment. It's call delusion and denial, and it's the only thing that keeps me sane. Merry Christmas!

[Nouvellecosse]

Personally I prefer deciduous in a denser, more traditionally urban environment, and conifers in the suburbs. To me, conifers say suburban rather than winter.

[Chadillaccc]

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert,_Saskatchewan