Butchart Gardens: A Blaze of Color in British Columbia

The Butchart Gardens of Brentwood Bay, British Columbia showcase several distinctive floral displays that attract nearly one million visitors each year. The gardens were built on the property of Robert Pim Butchart and his wife, Jennie, who owned a limestone quarry where the gardens now lie. The gardens are a National Historic Site of Canada, and they have continued to evolve through their century-long history.

Butchart History

As the Butcharts settled into their sprawling property in Brentwood Bay, they commissioned Japanese garden designer, Isaburo Kishida, to build a garden on their estate. Following the creation of this garden, Jennie Butchart converted the exhausted quarry into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. The tennis courts of the property were later transformed into an Italian garden, and the kitchen vegetable garden was converted to a large rose garden. Through generations, gardens have been passed down through the Butchart family, and they are now owned by the Butcharts’ great-granddaughter, Robin-Lee Clarke.

Garden Collections

Along with the unique gardens of the property, Butchart Gardens features collections of bronze statues, which have been installed to commemorate moments in the gardens’ history. The Ross Fountain in the lower reservoir was installed in 1964 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Butchart Gardens. The entirety of the gardens is served by miles of underground wiring, which illuminates the gardens at night. Butchart Gardens is open to the public all year, and it is particularly beautiful in the autumn when the colors of fall create a vivid canopy in the treetops.

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