Filed under: Activities & Attractions, Historic Places & Landmarks, Nature & Wildlife, Roads & Routes, RV Home School, RVing with Grand Kids, Traveling Tips, Uncategorized

Visit The Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, British Columbia

Do you enjoy visiting local display gardens when you are traveling hither and yon? Indeed, they can be a great way to see local flora and fauna. They are also fabulous locations in which to gather some regional knowledge and history and to gain a better understanding of the local climate.

If you are visiting Vancouver Island, British Columbia this summer, then you might consider a visit to The Butchart Gardens, which is located about 14 miles north of Victoria. Once a bleak limestone quarry pit, the 55-acre garden was started by Jennie Butchart in 1904. Jennie’s husband, Robert Pim Butchart, was a pioneer in the cement industry. After the limestone was depleted from the land near their house, Jennie decided to convert the useless pit into beautiful productive gardens. Those gardens are  now known as The Butchart Gardens and to this day remain a family owned private garden open to the public.

If you are visiting with children, rest assured that the children will be entertained by locally made totem poles,  ornate coin fountains, easy to navigate pathways, and a working carousel. Before you visit The Gardens, be sure to peruse the seasonal flower and foliage report.  Updated weekly, the report tells visitors exactly which plants and flowers are at their peak.  For additional information, check out the official website.

Photo courtesy of The Butchart Gardens

–Melissa A. Trainer

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