Butchart Gardens

In the course of our recent trip to Victoria we visited the Butchart Gardens.

To say this is the most amazing garden I’ve ever seen would be an understatement. The gardens are situated in a former limestone quarry, originally opened in 1904 by Robert and Jennie Butchart. In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. Following is a photograph of the Sunken Garden, the centre piece of the Butchart Gardens. Over 100 years after the gardens first opened, ownership of the Gardens remains within the Butchart family. The owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butcharts’ great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke. In 2004,  to mark the 100th anniversary, the Gardens were designated a national historic site.

This place is a photographer’s playpen. I captured well over 100 good images in the short time we were there. Choosing just a few for this blog is an impossible task, so I’ve abandoned the idea of presenting a few of the best. What follows are a few scenes from our stroll around the Gardens and a slideshow of close-ups of some very pretty flowers.

The Ross Fountain is named after Robert and Jennie Butchart’s grandson Ian Ross who ran the Gardens after the Second World War. Built in 1964, its 200 nozzles pump water 70 feet into the air in varying patterns and are illuminated at night.

There are a number of pretty ponds located throughout the Gardens. This particular one caught my attention.

Another pretty water feature is this bridge over a small stream, located in the Japanese Garden.

My last scene from the Butchart Gardens features an small, manicured meadow. There are a number of similar green spaces throughout the Gardens, presumably creating breaks between the more colourful floral areas.

I conclude today’s post with a slideshow of flowers that I photographed as we strolled the Gardens. As always, click on the right side of the images to advance, on the left to back up.

The Butchart Gardens are a “must see” for anyone visiting Vancouver Island. I hope to return.