Enjoy the beauty of Spring in Bloom at The Butchart Gardens located near Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. One of the world’s premier “not-to-be-missed” floral show gardens with over a million bedding plants.
Happy Sunday!
We’re springing forward with the arrival of Daylight Saving Time, but falling back to winter with a freezing 20 degree start to our morning here in North Carolina. . . a rude awakening after a couple of weeks of warm 70 days!
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Most of the US is experiencing cold air and freezing temperatures this morning, so I thought your winter-weary eyes might enjoy the promise of spring!
I’m sharing some flower therapy and taking you with me to see spring in bloom at The Butchart Gardens located near Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I had to fall back into the archives, when I originally shared these photos. For those of you who may remember being an armchair traveler with me, I hope you’ll enjoy a return visit and dose of spring from the The Butchart Gardens. Photo heavy post ahead, so grab a cup of something warm to drink while you dream of spring.
The Butchart Gardens were on the “not-to-be-missed” list when we took our first trip to visit the Pacific Northwest and Vancouver, accessible by float plane or a ferry ride away in Victoria.
Even the trash cans were beautiful and blooming!
Jennie Butchart began to shape this landscape into one of the world’s premier floral show gardens in 1904.
In the style of the grand estates of the period, she established several distinct gardens to evoke a range of aesthetic experiences.
A little background:
Robert and Jennie Butchart moved to Vancouver Island to build a cement plant on a rich limestone deposit at Tod Inlet in 1904. As cement production exhausted the limestone deposits, Jennie envisioned a grand garden in its place. Little by little, the quarry blossomed into today’s Sunken Garden, which includes 5 acres of gardens and took 9 years to create. It contains 151 flower beds with 65,000 bulbs planted each spring.
An even more amazing accomplishment and feat, when you consider that tons of top soil had to be brought in by horse and cart!
Between 1906 and 1929, the Butcharts expanded The Gardens, designing the Japanese Garden on the seaside, the Italian Garden on their former tennis court and the fragrant, overflowing Rose Garden.
Gifted The Gardens on his 21st birthday, grandson Ian Ross transformed them into the world-renowned attraction we know today, adding outdoor concerts and night lighting in the summers, and the Magic of Christmas in the winters.
Through successive generations of the Butchart family, The Gardens have retained much of the original design, and continues the Victorian tradition of seasonally changing the outstanding floral displays.
Today, The Butchart Gardens is a National Historic Site of Canada. You’ll find over a million bedding plants in over 900 varieties, ensuring uninterrupted bloom from March through October throughout The Gardens.
Over 300,000 bulbs bloom for a symphony of spring in The Gardens.
The public area of The Butchart Gardens covers 22ha (55 acres) with much more, for the most part, “off stage.”
Twenty-six greenhouses covering almost 2 acres, along with trial growing areas, a plant and a tree and shrub nursery help to keep The Gardens in prime viewing condition.
“Despite the forecast, live like it’s spring.”
– Lily Pulitzer
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Between Naps on the Porch
Oh, Mary, can you even imagine the work of planting those thousands of bulbs each year? Even supervising the team! How I would love to see these gardens. The stars were definitely aligned for your day of visiting, and your photographs truly capture the beauty of the details and macro views. Thanks for this today. We got 6″ of snow and a drop of 40° from Fri to Sat. Now it’s 13°. I sure hope today’s mid 40s can melt this stuff.
Absolutely breath taking Beautiful!!! If that doesn’t get you up and into the garden…🌹💐🪴 Let’s go get those beds ready! Great pick for a Winter morning read!! Thanks once again Mary!
Oh thank you for this beautiful post! I live in Michigan and woke up today to snow and 20 degrees. I loved getting lost in the thoughts of spring and planting. I’m a newcomer to gardening so I bought one of the books you showed and can’t wait to get started!
It IS ALL THAT& MORE!! One of my fav places we’ve toured. We signed the guest book “comments” it was a special Anniv. Upon leaving…they “gifted” us their pictorial book…I still look @ it. franki
WOW!!! Absolutely gorgeous!! We are waiting for our Spring…HURRY UP SPRING! Thank you for the look FORWARD! 🌺🌸🌼🌻🥀🌹🌷
Hi Mary ~ with single degree wind chills this AM it was the greatest treat to sit with my coffee and enjoy the lovely flowers and colors of Spring. Thanks for that 🌷 Hugs, Dorinda
Dear Mary…Words cannot describe the beauty in your pictures. The feels like temperature here in Virginia was 13 when I went outside to feed the chickens at 6:30 this morning so sitting here with a cup of tea, a puppy in my lap enjoying your beautiful pictures has made me forget how cold out it really is. Spring weather will be here soon! Thank you! Peace
So Beautiful in the Spring! It was delightful to view this post after such a cold spell this past few days in Ohio.
My husband and I visited Victoria and the gardens for our 10th wedding anniversary, 27 years ago. It was in the summer and roses were all in bloom!
Thank you again for a delightful look into Spring at such a beautiful place!
I do remember your visit to Butchart Gardens and this incredible place deserves to be enjoyed again and again, the seas of tulips are just gorgeous and I can’t imagine the work involved in planting and maintaining everything! Yes, typical teasing March weather, we were 72 degrees on Friday then woke up to snow on the ground and 25 degrees on Saturday!
Jenna
I didn’t know how much I needed this… With covid I FORGOT about travel and all the beautiful sights I have seen in this world! How could I forget butcharts! I have been a handful of times when young, what a treat to relive the memories…. Gorgeous shots everyone, thank you for shaking me awake to blooming dreams!
Gorgeous! Adding this to my bucket list!
Breathtaking. Such beauty. Thanks for sharing.
Monet could have spent his entire life in the seclusion of these gardens and never duplicated any painting. The Butchert Gardens are on my bucket list, and until I get there I’ll just pretend my backyard is a mini-version, if only in my mind!
I think my garden needs the flower that is in the 7th photo from the top. I hope my local nursery can identify it as it would be a welcome addition to my yard.
You did such a wonderful job with your photos. Thank you for sharing so we had a peek at early spring flowers!
Thank you Betsy, I hope you get to visit one day, the gardens are breathtaking! I did an online search and I think the flowers you’re referring to are Double Daffodil Bulbs – Sir Winston Churchill. I think our yard needs them too. :) I found them online here: https://www.edenbrothers.com/store/winston_churchill_daffodil_bulb.html
Oh my word, Mary, I was swooning over each photo! I probably told you that my late beloved snd I visited Butchart Gardens, on a stopover from our cruise, but it was at dusk!! We missed so much. I want to go back one day, but thankfully until then, I have the Dallas Arboretum. Happy Sunday!
Spectacular photography! (Flowers are my favorite subject!!!) We have visited Butchart Gardens, and you did it justice! Thanks for the wonderful photo display.
SO beautiful Mary! I have family in Victoria and used to visit every year but somehow never made it to the gardens. It’s definitely on my list, but in the meantime I’m living vicariously through your gorgeous photos. Stay warm over there!
I loved our visit to Butchart Gardens in June of 2016. The roses were breathtaking. I was taking it all in and didn’t get many photos. Thank you for the beautiful flower therapy!
We visited the Butchart Gardens a few years ago. It was heavenly. Everyone should see it at least once. I want to go back!
My husband and I visited the gardens years ago. It was one of the best trips we have ever taken. Thank you for sharing your photos which bring back many fond memories.
Wow, just wow! Thanks for sharing! Happy Spring everyone!
I’m an avid flower lover.Been there twice during summer, the best & biggest garden I’ve visited so far.
We visited there a few years ago in June. Just stunning!!!! They had a boat tour available that went out into some of the coastal inlets. Really wonderful with all the birds and there were a zillion jellyfish. The best gardens I have ever seen.
What beauty nature gives to us! Thanks for sharing.
This was a truly beautiful post Mary! Thank you for sharing! Clara ❤️
SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL.
The Butchart Gardens are absolutely beautiful and you have definitely captured their beauty in your gorgeous pictures.
We love visiting these gardens and each time we go out west, we visit them. Even though these gardens are always gorgeous, our favorite time to visit is in the Spring when these gardens are just breath taking with all their Spring splendor.
Thanks for sharing your lovely pictures with us, Mary! Have a great day!
Just beautiful! A breath of fresh air!
Love all the gorgeous photos! Hubby and I recently celebrated our 40th anniversary here last month. (April 2022) The gardens are lovely as always. We bought a one year season’s pass last Nov, so we can visit in all the seasons. We had tea here on our anniversary and it was delightful.