This may be an extraordinary thing to say but it is rare to be completely bowled over by the design, the planting, the range of plants and simply pristine environment of a garden. Quite often only parts of a garden suit our taste but Butchart garden in Victoria, on Vancouver Island left me speechless. I will not admit how many photographs I took both with my big camera and with my phone. Bill and I spent the whole day wandering the gardens and turning corners to discover yet another glorious view.
I have put a few facts together from my souvenir brochure but do have a look at the Butchart Garden site to find out more.
A quick trip through the history – in 1904 husband and wife, Robert and Jennie Butchart moved to Vancouver Island to build a cement plant on a rich limestone deposit at Tod Inlet. As cement production exhausted the limestone deposits, Jennie envisioned a grand garden in its place. All very well, but the topsoil necessary had to be transported by horse and cart! Little by little, the quarry blossomed into today’s Sunken Garden with mesmerising fountains.
It didn’t stop there as the Butcharts expanded the gardens, and by 1929 there was a Japanese Garden on the sea side, the Italian Garden on their former tennis court and an overflowing Rose Garden.
In 1939 the Butcharts gifted the gardens to their grandson, Ian Ross. What a 21st birthday present! Ian transformed them into the world-renowned attraction you can see today, adding outdoor concerts, night lighting in the summers, and the Magic of Christmas to the attractions. Ambition passed through the generations with great-grandson Christopher producing a choreographed firework show every year, then, in 2009, his sister Robin (the current owner of the gardens) added the Children’s Pavilion and Menagerie Carousel.
In 2004 the gardens celebrated the 100th Anniversary and two totem poles were carved not only to celebrate the anniversary but also in recognition of the rich cultural heritage provided by indigenous people.
No wonder the Butchart Garden is a National Historic Site of Canada. I was spell bound by the planting, the vision and the fact that it takes 50 full-time gardeners to keep it looking as I saw it on that day!
