Gardens of the World: Canada – Butchart Gardens, British Columbia, Brentwood Bay

Almost everybody travelling to Vancouver Island will ask where they can find Butchart Gardens. Butchart gardens are located a few kilometers north of Victoria. Even if they are not a real botanical garden, they are a show you will not forget. They were designated National Historic Site of Canada.

This group of display floral gardens was developed in an old limestone quarry, founded at the beginning of 1900s by the Butchart family, originally immigrants from Scotland. Limestone was quarried here for production of cement and of course this cement financed this huge garden show. When the limestone ran out in 1908, this unsightly scar of a quarry was ready to be used. The first trees used in masking the rock were Lombardy and White poplars with Persian plums. Yes, this was a private garden and at that time it was used as such.

At one point the Butcharts were hosting a tea party, serving some 18,000 people. The gardens are still a private enterprise. The gardens expanded in 1997, to employ staff of 240.

The gardens are a prime show of gardening, with different displays for every season. Vancouver Island climate is very mild and wet and therefore, the gardens are green year around. Besides the beautiful Japanese garden, the flowers are displayed on terraces of the former quarry.
A restaurant is available to the visitors for dining. They have a store with souvenirs and books. Weekly fireworks. The whole enchilada. Nobody would be disappointed.

These images were taken in 1970.