Photos: Holidays in the Pacific Northwest, 2010

One of the many scenes at the Garden d'Lights in Bellevue, Washington was observed on 22-December-2010

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA - This week's update to my photo site features holiday displays from the Pacific Northwest. The Garden d'Lights in Bellevue, Washington was observed on 22-December-2010, and Winterfest at the Center House in Seattle, Washington was visited on 27-December-2010.

Holiday: Garden d'Lights 2010

What has become the premier scene at the Garden d'Lights in Bellevue, Washington, the pond scene, was captured on 22-December-2010

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - It seems that all really good free things come to an end, and such is the case with the holiday season Garden d'Lights in Bellevue, Washington. Since 1994, the ever-growing light display had been free, but this year, outside of a few early-season dates, it cost $5 for adults and reservations were needed as total admissions were limited to keep the Botanical Gardens from becoming overcrowded, as had happened on several nights in the 2009 season.


An octopus was targeting a starfish for lunch in the aquarium scene at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2010

The display now features more than 500,000 individual lights in dozens of scenes that stretch throughout nearly the entire Botanical Gardens complex. The display is always different each year, so while one can expect listeria at the covered walkways and a pond scene on the upper lawn, some of the better animals like the monkey and the slug could be found in different locations, and there were plenty of new scenes throughout the park.


A gardener watered potted plants near gourds at the Garden d'Lights in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2010

While the original idea behind the Garden d'Lights had been to highlight plant life as a winter nighttime extension of the Bellevue Botanical Garden's daytime and mostly fair-season mission, the most popular parts of the Garden d'Lights have mostly become the animals. Some years, kids were given a list of animals to find hidden around the displays, and certainly the rabbit with its carrot and the spider with a fly caught in its web have become perennial favorite scenes, with new ones added each year.


A turtle was one of the prominent animals scattered about the Garden D'Lights in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2010

Still, the bulk of the lights in the Garden d'Lights are devoted to plant representations, with quite a variety, from desert succulents to both the blue and pink versions of hydrangeas, with just about any flower imaginable seen somewhere in the gardens. I wish some of them could be labeled just like the various real plant species in the garden have signs with their names that can be seen in daylight.


A typical scene with a variety of plants was seen along the hillside of the Garden d'Lights in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2010

The size of the garden was expanded significantly this year to include new portrayals of salmon jumping in a rapidly-moving stream. This display was especially appropriate considering the Botanical Gardens' proximity to Kelsey Creek, a stream that is alive with migrating salmon at certain times of year.


Salmon jumped up a creek in a new display for 2010 at the Bellevue Botanical Gardens' Garden d'Lights on 22-December-2010

With all the new displays, even with the $5 charge, the Garden d'Lights still compares favorably with other similar displays. It remains open through 1-January-2011--remember to make reservations if you wish to go!

Photos: Holiday Scenes in the Northwest, 2009

The fountain scene at the Garden D'Lights in Bellevue, Washington was captured on 22-December-2009

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - This week's update to my photo site features a roundup of Pacific Northwest holiday displays. Holiday scenes from around the Seattle, Washington area seen on 22-23-December-2009 included Bellevue's Garden D'Lights, Seattle's Gingerbread Village, Seattle's Toyland Village, and more.

Holiday: Garden D'Lights 2009

The Garden D'Lights in Bellevue, Washington included this extensive scene with a centerpiece fountain and even a swan on 22-December-2009

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - Last year, a snowstorm kept the number of people visiting the Garden D'Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden down, as noted in this blog. This year, with fair weather, the event is overflowing with people to the extent that traffic jams are extending all the way down to the foot of Main Street, and the trails are quite crowded.


An old standby, the snail, was one of the "critters" at the Garden D'Lights in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2009

The display added yet more LED lights this year, pushing the total number of lights well beyond the half-million mark to the point that nobody seems to know the exact number anymore. While there were definitely new displays this year as in all previous years, there were many old stand-bys from previous years, including the pond scene, the squirrel, the frog reflected in the pond, and the snail shown above.


A monkey, well-hidden in a tree, was amongst the "critters" in the Garden D'Lights in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2009

There are now so many "critters" in the Garden D'Lights, from geckos to ducks to peacocks to the monkey shown above, that a "critter map" is distributed for kids to try to find all of them. The "map" actually does not tell which critter is where, but just gives a list of all the animals and a map of locations, creating an activity for children to match the list with the actual locations.


The aquarium scene inside the Bellevue Botanical Garden Visitor Center was noted in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2009

The most impressive scene this year may have been the aquarium inside the visitor center, which now includes an octopus and a smattering of jellyfish as well as tropical fish and plants. With temperatures around the freezing mark, though, the best part of the aquarium scene may have been the ability to view it in a warmer environment.


A jellyfish was included in the aquarium scene at the Garden D'Lights in Bellevue, Washington on 22-December-2009

The Garden D'Lights remains open daily through 2-January-2010 from 5 pm to 10 pm; arriving early or late is advisable. Parking is $5 in the premium area, but there is a drop-off area this year and free parking available farther away. Admission is free but donors are entered in daily and weekly drawings for lights--my mother has of course won a daily drawing.