Butchart Gardens - A Visit To One Woman's Vision and Passion

Butchart Gardens, BC (58 degrees, splendid day)

"When you take a flower

 in your hand

and really look at it,

it's your world for the moment"

Georgia O'Keefe

The main reason I wanted to go over to Vancouver Island was to be able to return to Butchart Gardens. I had seen it many years ago with my friend Grace and have never forgotten it's beauty. 

I was over the moon when John, Jann, and I walked up to the entrance. Being able to see it in spring time was delightful. 

The gardens were begun in a worked out quary by Jennie Butchart over a hundred years ago. They are still family owned and over 55 acres. Click here for more history of the gardens and photos of how it looked originally.

So, without further ado...here are a "few" of my favorite gardens. Which one is your favorite?

"Blue thou art, 

intensely blue,

Flower whence came thy dazzling hue?"

James Montgomery

"The Earth Laughs In Flowers"      Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change" Buddha

"A flowers blossoms for it's own joy"

Oscar Wilde

"Flowers are the music of the ground.

From Earth's lips spoken

with sound"

Edwim Curran

"Use Your Tulips To Kiss Winter Goodbye"

Lilly Pultizer

Jann and me - friends forever

Friends Are Flowers Which Never Fade!

"Tiptoe Through The Tulips With Me!"

Al Dubin

At the end of our visit Jann and I shared a delicious afternoon tea service at the restaurant which is in the Butchart's original residence. It was a nice treat and we are so glad we shared it. 

I hope you enjoyed the tour today. Wasn't it delightful!!!

Visiting the Beautiful Capital City of British Columbia - Victoria

Victoria, B.C (62 high, 40 low, most blue skies)

Sunset View of downtown Victoria

The best things in Life

are the People we Love

the Places we've been

and the Memories

we have Made

We left the United States from Port Angeles Washington and traveled by a Black Ball ferry to Victoria British Columbia.  Getting the motorhome and jeep onto the ferry was easy and they do a great job of guiding you onto it. We have taken a few ferries with our motorhome and it's really a fun experience and John handles these challenges so well.

We are following this motorhome into the ferry

Bye Bye U.S.A.

Our motorhome overlooking the city

It took about an hour and half to cross and the port was right in the center of all the activity. Our campground was not too far away but it required some tricky navigation along some narrow streets and through construction to get there. Our home for the next five nights is Salish Seaside RV Haven. It's a beautiful campground with knock your socks off views of the city. It's the most we have paid for a campground since staring our fulltiming journey ($90 CAD). However, it was unanimously voted to be well worth the price.

It's a busy place. Sea planes fly over frequently landing right downtown to drop off their passengers. Lots of kayaks paddle by and cruise ships can be seen in the distance. Hanging out at  Barry and Jann's patio has made for some really nice happy hours. There is even a dock near campground where you can pick up a cute water taxi.

Water Taxi

Checking out the pretty downtown area was a priority and I found two walking tours on Frommer's  website. Click here for walking tour one and tour two. We did both and it really gave us a great overview as we wandered into some areas we might never have found. Here are a few of the highlights.

Sea plane coming in for a landing

Gate of Harmonious Interest

This lavish gate leads you into Chinatown and was built to commerate the revitalization of Chinatown in 1981.

Craigdarroch Castle

This castle was not on the walking tour but AAA recommended checking it out. It was built in 1885 by a very wealthy coal baron (Dunsmuir) and is now National Historic Site. You can tour inside and out and it was very interesting. It's been used for many different purposes after the family sold it and sits high up on a hill overlooking the city.

View from one of the windows in the castle

Thunderbird Park

Thunder Park is located downtown and is very pretty with numerous restored or replaced totem poles. The restoration in 1952 by Mungo Martin  brought new interest to an art form which was almost lost.

Pretty Victorian home

Fairmont Empress Hotel

This beautiful iconic hotel is the centerpiece of the downtown. It was hard to imagine this area was once a squalid swamp. The Canadian Pacific Railroad offered to clean it up in exchange for the land. The city quickly said yes in 1903. The company drove huge pilings down through the muck and provided a solid foundation for what we see today.  Wow!  The hotel is a very famous for serving a high tea with silver settings and lavish desserts and savories.  I once traveled here with a girl friend and enjoyed it very much. Today's price of $75/person was just too steep for Jann and me this time.

Provincial Legislature Building

Heimeken House (oldest house in BC)

This roadededrum bush was massive

West Bay over looking the Empress Hotel and boat docks

Silk Road Teas (over 300 blends, interesting shop)

Fan Tan Alley

The worlds's - Fan Tan -narrowest street is only four feet wide.  It used to be the entrance to "Little Canton" where opium dens and gambling parlors were plentiful

Chinese Imperial School

Greater Victoria Public Library sculpture

We spent a lot of time just enjoying the views from our campground. One evening we had a splendid dinner of fresh from the dock baked halibut.  It was so delicious.

Jann and Barry's site

Below is the route we will be taking on Vancouver Island. We will exit the island on a  ferry near Nanaimo - Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay. 

Vancouver Island route

My next post will be all about flowers...can you guess where we will be going?  

Sunset view from our campsite - Life is good!