Photo Scrapbook: Butchart Gardens

It's easy to see why everyone tells you the 22-acre Butchart Gardens is a "must-see" when visiting Victoria, B.C. It was a perfect day!!!


The famous Sunken Garden was created to beautify a worked-out limestone quarry which had supplied the Butchart family's nearby Portland cement plant.

Two towering totems were dedicated in 2004 to commemorate Butchart Gardens' 100th anniversary. Butchart Gardens, which borders on Tod Inlet close to Brentwood Bay, was also designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2004.

A path from the Rose Garden leads to the Sturgeon Fountain; the three sturgeons were cast in Florence, Italy, by Sirio Tofanari.

Work on the beautiful Japanese Garden started in 1906 and in the spring visitors have the opportunity to see rare Himalayan Blue Poppies in bloom.

Before leaving Butchart Gardens, we stopped for a picture with The Butchart Boar, fondly called "Tacca" and dedicated to all the children who visit Butchart Gardens. This rare copy of Porcellino (the original sits on the south side of the straw market in Florence, Italy) was acquired on a trip to Italy.

(blog entries by Heidi Hutson)