North America
Canada
Brentwood B.
Garden complex
Butchart Gardens
Name:Butchart Gardens
Founded:1904
Founder:Jennie Butchart
Area:approx. 220,000 m²
Number of plants:over 1 million
Number of plant species:approx. 900
Number of Visitors:approx. 1 million visitors per year
National Historic Site:since 2004

13 Fascinating Facts About The Butchart Gardens

 

  1. Location: Butchart Gardens are located near Brentwood Bay on Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are about 20 kilometres north of Victoria.
  2. Significance: Butchart Gardens are one of Canada’s most important attractions. According to the site, more than 1 million people visit the expansive garden landscapes every year.
  3. Industrial Use: From around 1904, the site at Tod Inlet on Vancouver Island was used intensively for cement production. Robert Butchart had limestone quarried there, which was processed into cement at his nearby plant from March 1905 onward. Around the quarry, a small industrial landscape developed, with factory areas, paths, workspaces and a wharf by the water. The quarry that later became the Sunken Garden had already been exhausted by 1909, while the wider cement industry at Tod Inlet continued for many years.
  4. Transformation into a Park: After the limestone quarry was exhausted, a deep, bare excavation pit remained at Tod Inlet. Jennie Butchart did not see it as wasted land, but as the foundation for an extraordinary garden landscape. She had topsoil brought in, planted the rock walls and created winding paths through the former quarry. This was how the Sunken Garden came into being, still making the site’s industrial past visible today while forming the heart of Butchart Gardens. Step by step, this private garden project grew into a large site with several distinct garden areas. The history of the site began in 1904 with Robert and Jennie Butchart and is still carried on today by their descendants as a family legacy.
  5. Sunken Garden: The walk through Butchart Gardens begins at the Sunken Garden with a view from above over a broad garden area that lies noticeably lower than the surrounding paths. From the viewpoint, visitors can see winding paths, manicured lawns, densely planted slopes and numerous flower beds that give the area its clear structure. Stairs and paths then lead down into the garden, allowing visitors to experience the site step by step from new angles. The Sunken Garden covers around 20,000 square metres and contains about 150 flower beds, which are redesigned again and again depending on the season.
  6. Rose Garden: After the Sunken Garden, the route leads into the Rose Garden, which was laid out around 1929 on the former vegetable garden of the Butchart family. Low hedges, clearly defined paths and carefully arranged rose beds give this area a particularly orderly feel. The 30 rose arches are especially striking, forming a dense corridor of blossoms for visitors to walk through in summer. They are among the most popular photo spots on the site. In total, more than 2,500 rose plants grow here in hundreds of varieties from around the world.
  7. Japanese Garden: After the Rose Garden, the route continues into the Japanese Garden, which was created as early as 1906 and is one of the oldest areas of the site. It was developed with the support of Japanese landscape designer Isaburo Kishida and feels especially peaceful thanks to its carefully balanced mix of small ponds, flowing streams and shaded paths. Visitors walk past small bridges, stone lanterns, mossy areas, rhododendrons, azaleas and Japanese maples.
  8. Italian Garden: After the Japanese Garden, visitors reach the Italian Garden, which was laid out in 1926 on the former tennis court of the Butchart family. Symmetrical paths, low flower beds and a central water basin give it the character of an elegant garden courtyard. At its centre stands a bronze statue of Mercury, the Roman messenger god, which reinforces the classical European atmosphere of this area.
  9. Mediterranean Garden: At the end of the route, the Mediterranean Garden reveals yet another side of Butchart Gardens. It was created in 2002 and takes advantage of Vancouver Island’s mild coastal climate for drought-resistant and heat-loving plants from different parts of the world. Across around 2,000 square metres, 74 plant varieties and about 200 shrubs grow in 9 beds.
  10. Seasonal Replanting: Butchart Gardens change their appearance throughout the year because many beds are replanted to suit the season. In spring, tulips, daffodils and other bulb flowers shape the scene. In summer, colourful annuals take over, while in autumn dahlias, chrysanthemums and colourful foliage create a new effect. This makes visiting worthwhile in different seasons, as the same garden areas can look completely different depending on the time of year.
  11. Gardening Work: Keeping Butchart Gardens so colourful and well maintained for months requires an enormous amount of work behind the scenes. Plants are grown in advance in 26 greenhouses, while more than 600 staff members in the peak season and 50 year-round gardeners plan, maintain and continually redesign the beds.
  12. Fireworks Show: On selected Saturday evenings in summer, Butchart Gardens become the setting for a large fireworks show after dark. The roughly 30-minute production combines music, fireworks in the sky and ground-level effects that are integrated directly into the garden landscape. The long family tradition behind it is especially fascinating, as the show has been designed since 1977 by Christopher Ross, a great-grandson of Jennie Butchart.
  13. Events: Butchart Gardens are not only visited as gardens, but also serve as an atmospheric event venue at many times of the year. In summer, the Night Illuminations bathe paths, beds, trees and water features in subtle light after dark. At the same time, open-air concerts take place on the Concert Lawn, a large lawn within the grounds, right in the middle of the garden landscape. From May to September, electric boat tours through Tod Inlet depart from the dock at Butchart Cove. The ride does not pass through the gardens themselves, but heads out onto the sheltered waters below the site and past wooded shores. At Christmas time, light decorations transform Butchart Gardens into a wintry walking route.