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by Barber E. Lane
Lake Forest, California
January 7, 2003
If you have any horticulture or gardening buffs in your group, this is a must see while on Vancouver Island. It is approximately 20 minutes, north of Victoria in the country village of Brentwood. Ample free parking for your own car or a Greyline Bus Tour from Victoria can get you there.
At the entrance,there is a large gift shop with everything floral you can imagine represented.
To the right is The Dining Room, a fine dining restaurant, The Blue Poppy Restaurant serving cafeteria-styled meals, and The Coffee Shop with coffee and desserts or a box lunch.
There are various areas within the Gardens such as the famous Sunken Gardens, water fountains, fields of flowers, Japanese Gardens, Rose Garden, and Italian Garden. Every pathway is decorated with varieties of plants and flowers. Countless statues are placed along the winding paths around the central open amphitheater area, where summertime entertainment and fireworks are included with admission.
Pay special attention to the accomodations made for household pets who may be touring. There are special water fountains for dogs, signs referencing leash rules, and other such cute touches.
You can spend as little as an hour racing through the gardens to half a day if you slow down your pace to fully enjoy. The large rose garden contains arched trellis walkways, shaded bench coves, calming water fountains, statues, and countless roses. The size and deep colors of the flowers are striking.
Butchart Gardens is truly a show place. The calming, almost spiritual nature of the place causes all who visit to speak in hussed tones. A word of advice: take along two to three times the amount of film or memory for your camera that you think you'll need. I wouldn't even want to guess how many pictures I took. Every bend in the path held another photographers dream.
The Gardens are open at 9:00 AM daily and closing times vary by seasons ranging from 3:00 to 9:00 PM. At night, thousands of colored accent lights turn the gardens into a magical place for their Night Illuminations treat. Special concerts and productions take place in the amphitheater during summer and Saturday nights, June to September, fireworks are hosted over the Gardens followed by an organ concert. Bring along a picnic lunch and blanket and enjoy the night along with thousands of other attendees.
Admission prices vary by season from $10 Canadian (about $6 U.S.) to $20 CDN for adults, teens half the adult price, and children under 13 are $2 CDN or less. 2004 will be the 100th year celebration since the Gardens began. Special activities are planned for that banner year.
From journal Flowers, Flowers, Everywhere - Charming Victoria
by Drever
Ayr, Scotland, United Kingdom
November 27, 2002
Jennie Butchart and Mr. Butchart between them had all the skills. The Sunken Garden was the start of Butchart. Later they created a Japanese Garden followed by an Italian Garden and a Rose Garden. Their house now contains the Dining Room Restaurant, offices, and rooms still used for family entertaining.
We saw the garden in September and displays were slightly past their best but as the photograph of the Sunken Garden shows they were still impressive. A good point for taking a photo of the Sunken Garden is from the lookout.
A network of paths wandered through the gardens. We spent about three hours wandering through these paths constantly remeeting people off our coach. At one point after wandering through the Japanese Garden we came to the sea and Butchard Cove which proved to be a mooring for yachts
The best way to describe the gardens is for you to see them so click through on Butchart Gardens
From journal Victoria - city of many activities
by Wisecloud guide
May 2, 2002
From journal Romantic Victoria
by kimca
Victoria, British Columbia
February 20, 2001
From journal Victoria, B.C-a Island Paradise
by Judy
Grants Pass, Oregon
January 23, 2001
From journal "Looks very British"
by Peregrine
, New Mexico
November 29, 2000
From journal Autumn on Vancouver Island
by travel2000
New York, New York
November 12, 2000
From journal Beautiful Victoria
by Re Carroll
Abbotsford, British Columbia
September 17, 2000