• The Butchart Gardens Map & Guide
  *Over 100 years in Bloom*
  National Historic site of Canada

• History
  The Butchart Gardens borders on Tod Inlet, close to Brentwood Bay, and 21 km (13 mi) from Victoria. Covering 22 ha (55-acres), The Gardens began with an idea by Jennie Butchart to beautify a worked-out limestone quarry which had supplied her husband Robert Pim Butchart's nearby Portland cement plant. Through the skillful mixture of rare and exotic shrubs, trees and flowers, often personally collected by the Butcharts during their extensive world travels, the now famous Sunken Garden was created.
  The Gardens, started as a hobby, constantly expanded, spilling over into the Japanese, Rose and Italian Gardens. By the 1920s more than fifty thousand people came each year. In a gesture toward their visitors, the hospitable Butcharts christened their estate "Benvenuto", the Italian word for "Welcome Today, the horticultural excellence achieved by the Butcharts is viewed by over a million visitors each year. In 2004 The Butchart Gardens, in bloom for 100 years, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada.

• Enjoy your tour
  The tour starts in Waterwheel Square with its Information Center, the Coffee Shop and the Seed and Gift Store. In summer, musicians and buskers may be entertaining the crowd, while during the Magic of Christmas season an out-door ice skating rink offers a unique experience. From Waterwheel Square, pass by the Information Center and along the upper path past the Snail Pond. Opposite, rambling roses festoon the pillars marking the sloping border of a brick-tiled Piazza in front of the Butchart's former residence. On the left, a bower is laden with hanging baskets. In late spring these contain schizanthus; in late summer colorful begonias an fuchias overflow the baskets. A short distance later a path on the left leads to the Sunken Gardens. Notice the hand rails of cement, fabricated to look like wood.

• Sunken Garden
  Rounding the curve to the lookout reveals a stunning view. Two fine specimens of arbor-vitae stand on each side of the path and the steep sides of the garden are hung with ivy and Virginia creeper. Look further beyond the garden to see the tall kiln stack which is all that remains of the cement plant. The switchback staircase leads to the main path which winds between beds of annuals amongst flowering trees and shrubs planted right to the base of the towering walls.
  
  From the far side of the lake, by the shoreline path, a lawn, revealed on the right, has a perennial border backed by a bank of large-flowered St. John's wort and dotted with Japanese maples.
  
  In 1964, Ian Ross, grandson of the Butcharts, created and installed the Ross Fountain. The water rises 21 m (70 ft), providing a magnificent display by day and an unforgettable sight at night.
  
  A straight concrete path slopes up from the Ross Fountain and, at the top, the left fork and walk leads past the stage area and along the edge of the Concert Lawn. Further along, on the left, two totem poles, carved in 2004 'to commemorate The Gardens' 100th anniversary, overlook the Firework Viewing area. During July and August the dazzling evening fireworks draw =thousands to sit on the lawn. The path from here goes to the left of the Concert Lawn, past the magnificent showing of dahlias and winds its way to the Rose Garden.

• Rose Garden
  A short walk through traditional perennial borders, covered by rose arches, leads to a frog fountain and, to the right, a "wishing well" of Italian wrought-iron. Then wander the Rose Garden, with its lawn surrounded by dwarf boxwood hedges and a flagstone walk. Many varieties of the Hybrid Tea Roses are marked with country of origin and year selected by the American Rose Society. The Rose Garden is at its best in July and August. The path curves through an open pergola, the arches covered with climbing and arbor roses, and leads to the Sturgeon Fountain. The bronze sturgeons were cast in Florence, Italy, by Sirio Tofanari.

• Japanese Garden
  Just past the fountain, a Japanese Torii gate marks the steps and small stream leading into the garden. During late spring, Himalayan Blue Poppies will be found near the bottom of the steps. Jennie Butchart was one of the first in North America to grow this rare and delicate flower. This non-traditional garden was started in 1906, with the expert assistance of Japanese landscaper, Isaburo Kishida. A glimpse of the ocean through the trees will reveal our dock for visiting seaplanes and boats at Butchart Cove, and a view of the Saanich Inlet beyond.

• Star Pond
  Leaving the Japanese Garden climb a small rise to the Star Pond, originally designed for Mr. Butchart's collection of ornamental ducks. Between the points of the "star" are beds of colorful annuals, with a frog fountain rising from the center.

• Italian Garden
  Inside the garden, between the two arched entrances stands a bronze statue of Mercury. The cross-shaped pond is fed by a fountain depicting a girl holding fish. This area was the Butchart's concrete floored tennis court. The long narrow building housed a bowling alley and it now offers shade to the seasonal Gelateria "Benvenuto".

• Piazza
  Passing under the side of the former Butchart Residence, the path opens onto the Piazza featuring the Florentine bronze statue of Tacca the Boar.
  
  To the immediate right is the Plant Identification Center. To the right is the Dining Room Restaurant, while the Blue Poppy Restaurant and the Show Greenhouse will be found on the distant left.
  
  You may think you've completed your tour of all the gardens, but there is one remaining. However, before heading to it, you may wish to enjoy the Coffee Shop or browse in the Seed and Gift Store as the next garden is close to the car park. Walk through the meticulously maintained laburnum arch bearing a spectacular display of pendulous yellow bloom in late spring, and a series of garden beds appear at the north end of the parking lot.

• Mediterranean Garden
  A celebration of our benevolent climate, this garden features mainly drought resistant plants from various corners of the globe with similar growing conditions to ours. This cornucopia of color, texture and exotic plants is sure to inspire.

2007/10/01