butchart gardens

One of my favorite things we saw in Victoria was the Butchart Gardens. This place is amazing. You can go year around and see different kinds of flowers based on the seasons. I'd love to see it in spring because there a about a million tulips. However, we were there in June and it was pretty incredible. In June you can see about a million roses.

The first part of this garden was designed down inside an old rock quarry. Jennie Butchart had tons of topsoil brought in by horse and cart. She transformed this place.

The sign as you enter the gardens.

The main house of Mrs. Butchart. It's now a couple different restaurants and a gallery.

The sunken garden inside the quarry. 

A fountain at the end of the sunken garden. Not quite the fountains of Bellagio in Las Vegas, but the fountain does change and it's very pretty.

Water lily pond. Peaceful and serene.

Moving on to the back lawn where there's an outdoor ampitheatre. They also have fireworks shows on the weekends.

Around the rose garden. I think this was my favorite place. So many amazing hanging baskets and huge, huge flowers everywhere.

Roses of every variety. All labeled.

Pretty, huh?

In the Japanese garden.

The back side of the main house. It once held a bowling alley, indoor pool, and an outdoor tennis court. Now it's a Mediterranean and Italian inspired garden.

The star pond. Complete with goldfish.

Butchart Gardens is definitely a must-see place in Victoria. Even on rainy days, they have big bins of clear umbrellas for you to borrow. I love that they're clear so they don't block the view of other people. There's a ginormous gift shop and several places to eat. You can even have high tea in one of the dining rooms. We ate lunch in the cafeteria style dining room and the food was really good.