Butchart Gardens

Today I went to the Butchart Gardens outside Victoria, BC. It's probably the whole reason I came to the island. When I was little, Mom and Dad took a trip and visited here. I've been looking at the pictures of them in the fabulous gardens for 20 years and wanting to go. So, here I am.

This morning I took a tour of the greenhouses. It ended up being a private tour as I was the only one who signed up. They only do the greenhouse tours in November, because at other times of the year, the greenhouses are too full and busy. I thoroughly enjoyed the tour - learning about different greenhouse types, planting methods, and getting a general sense of what goes on behind the scenes to make the garden beautiful. And it's a lot.

The gardens themselves are even more beautiful than I imagined. The sunken garden is a genuine fairy-land. Too bad my yellow fairy skirt was in the car! The Japanese Garden was a symphony of color. I'm sure this is where Dad fell in love with Jap Maples.