“And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed…”
Francis Hodgeson Burnett, The Secret Garden

If you haven’t been to Butchart Gardens, I highly recommend going at least once. It is a series of display gardens that covers more than 55 acres (22 hectares) and has been a popular tourist attraction since the 1920s. It was created by Robert and Jennie Butchart and has been family owned since 1904. It seems that Jennie was the driving force behind what eventually became a world-renowned attraction.

The Sunken Garden

The first time I went to Butchart Gardens was on the band trip I mentioned in my previous post. The next time was with David a few years later, and the third time was in 2019 with Bob, his parents and his daughter way back when the pandemic was only a predicted future event. This time I went with Bob, David, Pete, and Betty. This post is mostly just a series of photos from this 2023 trip - some I feel are good, and some just pretty. Some are also slight variations on the same view.

In 1904, the Butcharts built a house near the limestone quarry Robert had established that supplied limestone for his nearby Portland Cement company. By 1909, the limestone was exhausted, so Jennie had soil brought in by horse and cart to begin to beautify and create the Sunken Garden in the huge eyesore that was the quarry.

Sunken Garden

As usual, click to enlarge and see the captions.

Ore carts that I remembered from my High School Band trip. They were full of tulips in a grassy meadow then. They haven’t moved, but are now in a Bog Garden that is part of the Sunken Garden.

Japanese Garden

Sometime around 1910, Jennie retained Japanese garden designer Isaburo Kishida to design the Japanese Garden.

By the early 1920s, the Butcharts opened their gardens up to the public and the rest is history. In addition to the Sunken and Japanese gardens there are: The Italian Garden, the Rose Garden, and the Mediterranean Garden. The various gardens are at their best at different times of the year. For instance there were no roses when we were there this time (early May), but A LOT of tulips and daffodils. The Japanese Garden, while pretty in May, apparently really shines in the fall.

Fountains

There are fountains throughout the gardens.

The Butcharts gave the gardens to their grandson in 1939, who ran it for 58 years until he died in 1997. They are now owned and operated by the Butchart’s great-granddaughter. This Wikipedia article gives a much more detailed history.

Daffodils

The Show Greenhouse

This is a small greenhouse that is accessible to the public through an open window.

Garden Walk

Calceolaria

Calceolaria

Calceolaria

Garden Walk

Rose Carousel

Betty and Pete decided to ride the Rose Carousel. This was introduced by the Butchart’s great-granddaughter in December of 2009. There are twenty-eight hand-carved animals and two chariots all made out of basswood. As you can see, it goes REALLY fast. Or maybe I tried to show movement and reduced my shutter speed too much. One of those.