Across the street from the former Olympic sports complex, the Botanical Garden is spread across 72 hectares (180 acres). Begun in 1931, it has grown to include 21,000 varieties of plants in 31 specialized segments, ensuring something beautiful and fragrant for visitors year-round. Ten large conservatory greenhouses shelter tropical and desert plants, plus bonsai and penjing (Chinese bonsai), from the Canadian winter. Roses bloom here from mid-June to the first frost, May is the month for lilacs, and June is the time for the flowering hawthorn trees. Inaugurated in summer 1991, the 2.5-hectare (6-acre) Chinese Garden, a joint project of Montréal and Shanghai, is the largest Chinese garden ever built outside Asia. Meant to evoke the 14th- to 17th-century era of the Ming Dynasty, it incorporates pavilions, inner courtyards, ponds, and myriad plants indigenous to China. The serene Japanese Garden fills 6 hectares (15 acres) and contains a cultural pavilion with an art gallery, a tearoom where ancient tea ceremonies are performed, a stunning bonsai collection, and a Zen garden. The grounds are also home to the Insectarium, displaying some of the world's most beautiful insects, not to mention some of its sinister ones. The Insectarium is home to the award-winning "Insect Tasting," in November and December, featuring gourmet snacks made with insects. Birders should bring along binoculars on summer visits to spot some of the more than 130 species of birds that spend at least part of the year in the garden. In summer, an outdoor aviary is filled with butterflies. Year-round, a free shuttle bus links the Botanical Garden and nearby Olympic Park. A small train runs regularly through the gardens and is worth the small fee charged to ride it.