GARDENS & HORTICULTURE

Aptly named the City of Gardens, Victoria is world renowned for its many resplendent gardens. Victoria's legendary passion for gardening stems from the early days when British settlers "tamed" their bit of unruly Pacific wilderness by planting roses to remind them of home. This love of gardening quickly turned into a tradition that flourishes all over this capital city, and the mildness of the climate means there's always something blooming.

The Butchart Gardens
The Butchart Gardens: Fifty acres of floral finery offering spectacular views as you stroll along meandering paths and expansive lawns. In 1904, the concept of The Butchart Gardens began with an effort to beautify a worked-out quarry site on the 130-acre estate of Mr. and Mrs. R.P. Butchart, pioneers in the manufacture of Portland Cement in Canada. Their endeavour became a family commitment to horticulture and hospitality spanning more than 90 years and delighting visitors from all over the world.

The Butchart Gardens is a glorious display of flowers, fountains, footpaths and more. The gracious period buildings, in which are housed the restaurants and extensive gift shop, line a central piazza. The gardens, presented in a series of "rooms", are magnificent. There is the serenity and simple beauty of the Japanese Garden, which slopes gently to the sea, the entrance of which is flanked by bright red lacquered "torii" and a stately pair of 90 year-old copper beech. The Rose Garden, added in 1930 and dotted with no less than 2,500 rose plants of 250 astonishing varieties, is positively ethereal on a golden summer afternoon. There can be no hurrying through these winding paths! In the continental Italian Garden, presided over by a Florentine bronze sculpture of Mercury surrounded by Leyland cypress, water lilies float on a still sheet of water in the formal pool.

But it is the unusual and famed Sunken Garden that leaves the visitor breathless, not only at its singular beauty but in frank admiration of Jennie Butchart's vision. Her artistic eye - she had, after all, been offered a scholarship to study art in Paris - led to a remarkable transformation. This garden was once a depleted and rubble-lined limestone quarry when Jennie Butchart began turning the barren space into the garden whose image now flies through the air on a thousand post cards. While at Butchart Gardens, enjoy traditional afternoon tea featuring the pastry chef's delectable creations. Also be sure to visit the Plant Identification Centre, where you can ask questions about plants.

Hours of Operation
The Butchart Gardens gates open at 9:00 am every day, except Christmas Day and New Year's Day when the Gardens open at 1:00pm. Closing times vary throughout the year.

Abkhazi Garden
The unique West Coast design of this garden has received international recognition, but it is the story of two royal lovers that has captured people's hearts everywhere. War and imprisonment kept Prince Nicolas Abkhazi and Peggy Pemberton-Carter apart until they were able to finally reunite in Victoria to create what they called "A garden that love built".

In 1946, the property was purchased by Peggy Pemberton-Carter, who came to Victoria after spending close to eight years in a Japanese internment camp outside of Shanghai. She was soon reunited with Prince Nicholas Abkhazi who she had met in Paris in the 1920's. Married in Victoria, they began building their garden and home. Slightly more than one acre, the garden features native Garry oaks, ornamental evergreens, significant rhododendrons, rock and alpine plants, naturalized bulbs and examples of Japanese maples and weeping conifers.

Hours of Operation:
The Abkhazi Gardens are open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00pm.

Victoria Butterfly Gardens
Stroll amidst hundreds of exotic butterflies flying free in a 12,000 square-foot indoor tropical rainforest. Witness the entire life cycle of these amazing insects. Spectacular flowering plants and foliage, fascinating birds, waterfalls and a stream with fish all contribute to make this a truly memorable experience. Featuring friendly helpful staff, lots of free parking and a well-stocked gift shop. Located less than five minutes to the world famous Butchart Gardens.

Hours of Operation:
July - August: 8:30am - 8:00pm; September - October: 9:00am - 6:00pm;
October - April: 10:00am - 4:30pm; April - June: 9:00am - 6:00pm.

Government House Gardens
The house and grounds of Government House, the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, are situated at 1401 Rockland Avenue in Victoria. The estate has belonged to the people of British Columbia since 1865 when Arthur Kennedy, then Governor, took up residence here. In 1871, with the entry of British Columbia into Confederation, the property became the official residence of the Lieutenant Governor. The grounds consist of 14.2 hectares (35.6 acres), of which 5.7 hectares (14 acres) are ornamental gardens. The remainder is Garry oak woodland, a unique example of the Garry oak ecosystem native to Southeastern Vancouver Island.

Hours of Operation:
The gardens are open dawn to dusk year round. The woodlands may be visited by appointment.

Hatley Park Public Gardens
Hatley Park is located in Colwood, a suburb of Victoria. It is also on the route from Victoria to Sooke, the gateway to the Southwest Coast of Vancouver Island. Hatley Park is the location of Canada's newest public university, Royal Roads University, and its public gardens. They are located on 140 acres of land leased from a 650-acre parcel of land owned by the Canadian Government. The university and gardens are surrounded by an urban forest containing elements of all biotic zones of Vancouver Island except alpine and coastal rain forest. The campus area borders on a saltwater lagoon, which is a bird and wildlife sanctuary. From most parts of the grounds and gardens, it is possible to look across the straits of Juan de Fuca towards the Olympic Mountains of Washington State.

The entire property in its present form was once the private estate of the Hon. James Dunsmuir, at one time one of the wealthiest individuals on the Pacific Coast of North America The gardens at Hatley Park feature a wide variety of plants and plantings, from formal to esoteric to naturalistic. The gardens provide visitors with a representation of the plants that may be grown with little extra effort, but may not necessarily be readily available in most garden centres and nurseries. Hatley Park has a very large number of trees more than 100 years old, both native and non-native, as focal points throughout the gardens.

Hours of Operation:
The gardens are open to the public 7 days a week from dawn to dusk.

Horticulture Centre of the Pacific
The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific offers plant enthusiasts a peaceful, rural environment alive with a varied array of vegetation. Currently the Centre maintains about 15 acres of demonstration and teaching gardens and has stewardship of about 90 acres of mostly undeveloped land. This includes wetlands with about 35 varieties of birds, pockets of Garry oak habitat and other sensitive plant material native to the area.

The central theme is habitat planting. Plants with similar cultivation requirements are grouped together to enhance the natural productivity of the land. This conserves labour and water, and contributes its own subtle aesthetic because plants in an ecological community complement one another visually. Victoria's mild Pacific winters allow for year-round gardening. Tour the Centre's winter garden, rhododendron garden, Japanese garden, heather garden and dahlia trial garden, which are maintained by local garden clubs. Enjoy the large collection of perennials, including lilies, hardy fuchsias, irises and more.

The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific has a registered training school for maintenance gardeners. It also offers monthly workshops and guided walks on seasonally topical subjects.

Hours of Operation:
April 1 to September 30: 8:00 am to 8 pm and October 1 to March 31: 9:00 am to 4:30 pm.

Swan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature SanctuarySwan Lake/Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary has two distinct ecological areas: 47 hectares of fields and hedgerows surrounding Swan Lake and 11 hectares of rocky hilltop with a Garry oak forest on Christmas Hill. This lovely park offers walking trails, a floating boardwalk, two wharves, and ample opportunities to watch for birds and freshwater wildlife such as river otters, muskrats and basking turtles. The nature house features displays and special programs and events year-round, as well as trail guides and bird checklists.

Hours of Operation:
The parking lot and trails are open from dawn to dusk.

University of Victoria - Finnerty Gardens
The University of Victoria Finnerty Gardens contain a major collection of rhododendrons, as well as many other varieties of plants. The gardens are always interesting, but the months of April and May are the peak blooming season and the best time to visit.

The University Gardens were developed when, in 1974, the estate of Mrs. Jeanne Buchanan Simpson of Cowichan Lake was left to the University. She and her husband George, beginning in the 1920's, built up a notable collection of Rhododendron species at their Lake Cowichan home. Many plants were grown from seed obtained directly or indirectly from famous plant explorers of the day. Theirs was the largest collection in British Columbia.

The Buchanan Simpson's gift transferred to the University the responsibility for the well being of a significant collection of a popular genus among Victoria gardeners. The University decided to move many of the rhododendrons to the campus where they would form the nucleus of a new garden that was created on nearly three acres of land at the south end of the campus.

The collection now includes more than 200 rhododendron species and azaleas along with an extensive planting of hybrids, most of them of early origin. The accession list includes about 1600 entries for trees and shrubs. All are catalogued and identified by a number that refers to a master list, which is available.

This is a garden in active growth. In it rhododendrons may be seen in flower from mid-January until late June, also extensive collections of spectacular perennials from July onwards. Companion plants such as Garrya, Chimonanthus, Hamemalis, Mahonia and Eucryphia extend the season through most of the year.

Hours of Operation:
The gardens are open to the public every day during daylight hours. Allow at least one hour to tour the gardens.

Milner Gardens & Woodland
This is a public garden in Qualicum Beach owned by Malaspina University. The gardens are 60 acres of woodland, and ten acres of garden surrounding a heritage house. The Garden features plants from the temperate zones of the world including a unique collection of over 500 rhododendrons, and an intrepretive trail through the old growth forest. The heritage house is available for meetings. Milner Gardens is open to the public for self guided tours. There is a daily limit of 200 guests. Reservations are recommended.

Hours of Operation:
Hours are 10 am to 4 pm, Thursday through Sunday from April 21 to the last Sunday in October.