Field Trip: Butchart Gardens

Last Saturday we left our dock for a mini-vacation. You know, because living in Victoria isn't enough of a break.

After an easy overnight anchored at the south end of Portland Island, we motored (no wind) through Saanich Inlet and into Tod Inlet. There we tied up on a mooring buoy and took the dinghy across to the back entrance to the Butchart Gardens. After a brief delay — there are comparatively few visitors arriving by boat in late October — we were admitted and spent a few hours admiring all the greens, reds, and golds of autumn in one of the world's best-known gardens.

Pictures trump words, however, when one visits gardens. So here are some pictures. 

This is one view of the Japanese garden, which is the first garden we saw when we arrived. It is, as you can see, stunning; we could have stayed there for our whole visit and filled our eyes with colour, shape, and texture.

 

Did I mention that it started to rain as we set out in the dinghy? The rain added a lovely dimension to the experience. And as things turned out, the skies had cleared and the sun was shining again before we left.

I loved the sheen of the rain on these begonias but don't have the technical skill — or the equipment — to catch what my eyes really saw.

Another spectacular display was to be found in the sunken garden, which is probably the showpiece of the gardens. The sunken garden was the original lime quarry; this picture is taken from one of the high points.

I loved the amur maple in the backyard of our St. Albert house, but this shrub is even better.

The rose garden is the most diminished garden at this time of year, as most of the canes have been trimmed and only a few were still blooming. But as a Prairie girl, I was astonished to see (and smell) roses a week before Hallowe'en. What a scent to inhale in October!

Two totem poles stand in the gardens, raised to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of the gardens. This detail shows an otter holding pups and a clam. Yay, otters!

 I couldn't possibly capture all the colours and varieties of dahlias on display in this riot of flowers, but this particularly contrasting section caught my eye.

I found this planting atop a waste bin on the grounds. The truly black plant was arresting — and then I saw it in several other plantings.

The mooring buoys (there are five) across Butchart Cove are complimentary for gardens visitors. (Note, however, that stern-tying is mandatory when you're on these buoys, as there is almost no swing room.) And I should mention that the Saanich Inlet is filled with surprises: between noon and five o'clock on Saturday we watched sea lions, humpback whales, and a hummingbird. There aren't many other places on earth where you could have that experience.

All in all, it was a grand visit. I hope we'll get back to Butchart Gardens in the spring before we leave the coast.

Now, onward to the San Juans!