The Butchart Gardens is not only the principal attraction of Victoria but of all Vancouver Island and probably of all British Columbia. So it is a highlight for many when visiting Victoria BC. What is it that makes the gardens so special?
Back to the beginning...
Jennie Butchart began to create her garden over 100 years ago in a disused limestone quarry of her husband’s business. It became the Sunken Garden. It was soon followed by the Japanese Garden overlooking the Saanich Inlet. Step by step, new gardens and features were added so that now we can enjoy a most remarkable series of gardens on some 20 hectares (50 acres).
What you will see changes with the seasons but the gardens are never bare of interest. More than 50 gardeners start work early every day to produce pristine displays. The climate here in Victoria has pleasantly warm summers and reasonably mild winters with a few frosts and only one or two brief snowfalls. This results in a wide variety of flowers, shrubs and trees thriving in the beautiful setting of southern Vancouver Island.
Visiting the Butchart Gardens
When you enter, the helpful staff give you a Visitor Guide with a suggested route. Firstly, you will be awed by the panorama over the Sunken Garden which you then wander through until you reach the Ross Fountain which sprays water up to 70 feet high in varying patterns.
Next stop: the new Rose Carousel for children of all ages. Revisit your childhood! To your left is a lake which is the centre for fireworks displays. The route then takes you through the scented Rose Garden where cameras click constantly.
Past the Sturgeon Fountain you enter the delightful Japanese Garden, fascinating by day and when floodlit. Its maze of paths leads down to Butcharts Cove. Walking back up towards Benvenuto, the old family home, you pass the Star Pond and go through the formal Italian Garden with its statue of Mercury.
Take special note of the times when the Gardens are illuminated. You will not want to miss this. From mid-June until mid-September, the garden displays are lit up wonderfully. It is a completely different experience to see them in the late evening compared to during the day. To help you see both, the gardens offers free same-day re-entry privileges (except on Fireworks Saturdays) and a small charge to return the next day (so retain your tickets). During December and early January, there is a completely different display of lighting, The Magic of Christmas.
Activities at the Butchart Gardens
A few guests fear they will find gardens boring, but when they go, they are always impressed. Aside from the overwhelming floral beauty, there is so much variety:
Evening illuminations are really a light show that appeals in a different way than the floral displays.
Every evening in July and August features a high-class concert on the lawn with varying music daily.
Saturday night fireworks displays draw huge crowds. There is no extra charge for this. Ask the host at your bed and breakfast (link) if you can borrow something to sit on.
There are frequent 45-minute boat tours of the Saanich Inlet. The skipper will give you an enjoyable and informative trip.
A large gift and seed store offers a fine array of souvenirs of your visit to Victoria.
You can make a reservation for fine dining in the dining room at Benvenuto or pop into the Blue Poppy Restaurant for a light meal. There is also a cafeteria and coffee and gelato stands.
Last and definitely not least, there’s afternoon tea in the dining room which many consider to be the best in Victoria.
So… be sure to put aside at least half a day for the Butchart Gardens when visiting Victoria BC.
