Located in Canada...on Vancouver Island, this beautiful garden began because of an equally unattractive substance.
In 1888 Robert Butchart moved to the west coast of Canada because of the copious availability of Limestone to be used in his Portland Concrete.
If you are unfamiliar with Portland Concrete it was used a great deal on our older highways. A large part of the Original Route 66 has this paving. It resembles large gravel stone mixed into a concrete base. Big stones stuck together in cement.
Anyway...from the beginnings of an ugly pavement and gravel quarry came The Gardens. After the quarry was exhausted in 1901 they turned the site into a Sunken Garden along with a Japanese Tea Garden that was constructed earlier. By 1921 the garden was open to the public.
In 1939 the Butcharts gave the gardens to their grandson who continued to develop them.
The Butchart Gardens remain within the family to date.
In 2009 the Children's Pavilion and Rose Carousel were added.
Rose Carousel
https://youtu.be/Nw61jc-wjtg
Come...let's take a virtual adventure!
The Italian Garden.
The Ross Fountain
The Sturgeon Fountain
The Japanese Tea Garden
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https://youtu.be/262KealkrCo
Admission is between 15-30 dollars, and the gardens host over a million visitors annually.
I hope you have enjoyed this virtual adventure!
More anon...
The Japanese Gardens at Night
