Butchart Gardens, B.C. {Canada}

Since this winter seems to have a iron grip on the country, I’ve been looking at all of my flower pictures lately. (Even for someone who loves winter, I’m ready for some warmer days!) Some of the best flowers I’ve seen were in Canada, several years ago.

During a short day trip to Victoria, British Columbia in Canada (a several hour ferry ride from Seattle/Anacortes), one of my favorite stops was the Butchart Gardens. Victoria felt like a magical spot from start to finish, and the Gardens were a major part of this: a wonderland of flowers, forest and landscape.

After we arrived in Victoria and had a spot of tea, we hopped on a bus–easy to find, there’s one from the ferry, or you can sign up on a tour before you arrive–and went up the island to the Gardens.

The Butchart Gardens are over 100 years old, and they are truly luscious. I almost broke my camera as I couldn’t help but take pictures of practically every flower.  Even though it was raining on-and-off during our visit (which was in August, so plan ahead!), this almost made the flowers more picture-worthy. They even give you a clear umbrella at the entrance so you don’t miss a thing. 🙂 (I appreciated this a lot, as I always seem to miss so much when blocked by a regular umbrella, in places much less scenic than this!)

The Gardens are huge (here’s a handy map for reference). I could have easily spent much longer there, but we had a lot of plans for our single-day stop. There are many different gardens within the Butchart Gardens, such as a Rose Garden, a Japanese Garden, and an Italian Garden, to name a few. My favorite was the Sunken Garden, where the first photographs below are from, including the fountain. There are coffee shops and restaurants on site, and even a boat tour! We were happy wandering around looking at flowers, but you’ll enjoy whichever you decide to do.

Victoria remains one of my favorite day-trips ever, and I’m sure you’ll see why!