Our morning in Victoria was immersed in flowers. Butchart Gardens is a delight at any season. It is difficult to say why these gardens have such appeal. Perhaps it is because they make up a large floral sculpture. The complexity of shapes and textures includes the rocks, the contours of the land, walkways, waterways and trees. The beds are oriented in tiers that seem to pull you into their beauty. Floral spires mix with colorful mounds and fine pointy petals blend with softly rounded ones. This rich tapestry of colors sometimes blares at the onlookers or subtly winds its shades into your vision like a quiet minuet traces through your mind. The gardener's palette is so rich. There are over 700 types of bedding plants used here. There were delphiniums, geraniums, and dahlias galore, salvias, petunias, and many, many more. Aconitum, ageratum, and sedum to mention just a few, and oh, roses need to be in there too.
The potential for a gardener to sculpt such a powerful image can be realized only in a place such as Butchart Gardens. The "sculptor" at this site was Jennie Butchart. Her husband, Robert Butchart, started a limestone quarry in 1904 for the production of Portland cement. She found the quarry to be the ideal location to sculpt a garden of world renown. The photo above shows the once active quarry, now called the sunken garden. A wall of it can be seen in the upper left-hand corner and bright morning sunlight illuminates the upper right corner.
The M.V. Sea Bird was docked across from the ornate Empress Hotel. This central location allowed us to spend the afternoon listening to street musicians along the waterfront and exploring beautiful Victoria's provincial museum, bookstores, and quaint British shops.
The potential for a gardener to sculpt such a powerful image can be realized only in a place such as Butchart Gardens. The "sculptor" at this site was Jennie Butchart. Her husband, Robert Butchart, started a limestone quarry in 1904 for the production of Portland cement. She found the quarry to be the ideal location to sculpt a garden of world renown. The photo above shows the once active quarry, now called the sunken garden. A wall of it can be seen in the upper left-hand corner and bright morning sunlight illuminates the upper right corner.
The M.V. Sea Bird was docked across from the ornate Empress Hotel. This central location allowed us to spend the afternoon listening to street musicians along the waterfront and exploring beautiful Victoria's provincial museum, bookstores, and quaint British shops.
