Hi Friends! How was your week? If you follow me on Instagram, did you see the sneak peek of what was going on at my house yesterday :)? SO EXCITED.
So I was looking through some of my drafts in the blog this week and realized that somehow I managed to forget to publish this post on the Butchart Gardens from a trip we went on to Victoria. A trip we took LAST FALL. It was all in draft, pictures and all, and I somehow I just got busy and forgot about it (and a couple of other trips I meant to post about! Sigh).
Anyway, it’s never too late to gaze at pictures of an amazing garden, right? And since we talked about creating a magical garden earlier this week, well, you just can’t get more magical than this!
The whole garden was planted over one hundred years ago on the grounds of Mr. & Mrs. Butchart’s home, in a big ugly sunken pit that was formerly a limestone quarry. I just love that she potential in an ugly pit and creating something so stunning where there was once rubble. Isn’t it easy to just look at the ugly pits of life and overlook what they could become, if we just tended the soil and created something beautiful?
I first went to Butchart Gardens as a kid and it was so glorious I’ve wanted to go back ever since. Finally we had that chance last Fall and it was just as lovely as I remembered. It’s an amazing place to go in the spring and early summer when all the bulbs are in bloom! Yet, even in the early Fall when we were there, this place is a fairytale.
It was kind of a cloudy day but the rain stayed away so we could walk through the gardens without umbrellas.
I think I said WOW a million times as we wandered the garden.
I love all the meandering paths and gorgeous greenery.
Each area of the garden is exquisite.
So much beauty, it really takes your breath away at every turn.
We didn’t have reservations for dinner, but they were able to get us in. The restaurant is in the Butchart’s original family home so you know I wanted to go in and spend the evening gazing at it.
I felt a little awkward taking pics inside and at dinner, but it was lovely.
We sat in a gorgeous sunroom that overlooked their private garden.
The fireworks were fun and worth going to at the end of the evening! All in all, it was a magical visit to Butchart Gardens. If you ever have the opportunity to visit, GO. If you have been, tell me about your visit in the comments!
Oh, Melissa – thank you SO much for sharing this! My dear mother, who departed this life five years ago, took a solo trip to the Northwest at age 75, and one of the places she wanted specifically to visit was Butchart Gardens. She had a lot of trouble walking by then, so she rented a cart and was able to tour much of the gardens that way, and she thoroughly enjoyed it! We have her pictures and travel journal from the adventure. She drove the whole way from Indiana (and back!). What a lady! Thank you for sharing this beautiful garden and bringing up memories of my precious, courageous mom!
WOW! That’s so awesome and what an amazing memory that she shared with you through her photos and travel journal. I love how brave she was to take the journey at 75, I bet she inspires you so much! Thanks for sharing her story!
Oh, I just love this place! I went there as a kid as part of the best family vacation we ever took, and then I was able to bring my husband there a couple years after we were married. Special memories and such a beautiful place!
Ahhhhhh…..what a magical place! While the garden vistas look beautiful on brilliant sunshine, I think a cloudy day is better for admiring and photographing flowers up close. I’ve only visited Butchart Gardens during the day and your photos remind me how much I want to go back for an evening visit with dinner and fireworks.
I visited Butchart Gardens just days before 9/11–it was the last time that going through airport security was easy and not something to be dreaded. I absolutely loved the Gardens and want to visit again, this time with my family.
beautiful! thank you for sharing :)
I have never had the opportunity to visit Butchart Gardens but it is definitely on my bucket list. The pictures you posted are just gorgeous. While I have visited many gardens through the US, I would have to say that my favorite so far has been Longwood Gardens in PA.
Lovely pictures and such a nice escape for a moment…it is hot and very dry and brown here.
Thanks for sharing….I need to go there one day.
Gorgeous!! I want to be there.
Thank you for sharing. I visited when I was 12. It was a magical place even for a child!
As a child, we spent our summers on the island and Butchart Gardens is one of those memories that is so filled with nostalgia for me. Breathtakingly beautiful and unlike anything I’ve experienced since. Many years after our last trip to Canada, I married at 32 and our honeymoon was a surprise arranged by my husband. It was an Alaskan cruise that ended in B.C.. When we got to the island and went to Butchart Gardens, it was like the best childhood memories flooded over me. It was incredible to be back and to enjoy it with my new husband. We had lunch that was finished with berries and cream. Quite the highlight for me of our trip. Thank you for posting on this magical place!
I have a season’s pass to Butchart Gardens and try to visit every month. It’s magical at every season. I love the fall for the rich colour of dahlias and those misty days when everything is toned down a little. So glad you enjoyed your visit there last fall.
My husband and I went for our honeymoon, ten years ago this month. It was the most amazing place I’ve ever been in my life. And I’ve been to Italy! I love, love, love to garden, so it was heaven for me. I hope to go back again someday. It’s so beautiful it nearly makes you cry.
I was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, and my favorite outing as a child was a ferry trip to Victoria and a visit to Butchart Gardens with my grandparents. It is a fairy-tale place, to be sure, and an absolute must see if you are in the area (or even if you have to make a journey!). My sister lives within walking distance of the Gardens, and I am so envious of her. These beautiful pictures brought back such special memories.
I know this is stupid…how do you pronounce the name Butchart??