Butchart Gardens – Time to Stop and Smell the Roses

After checking in with Canadian Customs at Bedwell Harbor, we continued our day’s cruise over to Vancouver Island, down into Saanich Inlet continuing south to Todd Inlet’s Butchart Cove. We wanted to pick up one of the free mooring balls for the night. We could then dinghy over to have a tour of the famous Butchart Gardens, located in Tod Inlet, Vancouver Island.

Butchart Gardens provides five free mooring balls for visiting boaters for a one-night stay while they spend time in the gardens.

One of those mooring balls ahead of us has our name on it, we lucked out, there was one free for us to pick up.

Late in the afternoon, we dinghied over to the dock provided to visitors who come by boat to tour the gardens.

Butchart Gardens was started in 1910 and has grown significantly over the years today it is one of Canada’s National Historic sights. I have to admit I included this in our cruising itinerary for Lisa, but I was absolutely astounded by the natural beauty that has been created in this 55-acre piece of paradise. You be the judge.

The garden is the inspiration of Jennie Butchart, wife of Robert Pim Butchart, a cement factory pioneer. Jennie decided to create something beautiful out of the huge pit left from the limestone quarry her husband dug up for the cement factory. She had tons of topsoil brought in by horse and cart to line the floor of the abandoned quarry. Over the years the quarry morphed into what is today a spectacular Sunken Garden. Years later a Japanese Garden, an Italian Garden, and a beautiful Rose Garden were added.

We could see our boat anchored out in Butchart Cove through this hedge in the Japanese Garden.

The Italian Garden was colorful and well done, Lisa’s favorite garden during our tour.