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!

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