Victoria's Butchart Gardens: Paradise on Vancouver Island

As a child, I visited Vancouver Island with my parents on several occasions. One of my most vivid memories of exploring the island was strolling the grounds of the incredible Butchart Gardens. Sprawling across 55 acres of fertile land, the Butchart Gardens feature several themed gardens, fountains, a carousel, and so many flowers it will make your head spin.

We visited Vancouver Island last May with our own children, and I was excited to continue the family tradition of visiting Butchart Gardens into the next generation. My memory certainly didn't even do the gardens justice - they were even bigger, brighter and more beautiful than I remembered!

Allow me to take you on a virtual tour of the gardens, and don't forget to watch the video at the end to  get the full experience!

Butchart Gardens is a little piece of paradise on Earth.

We began our trip to the Butchart Gardens from the city of Victoria, where we were staying at Hotel Zed (check out our hotel review video here!). It is approximately a 30-minute drive from the city, and the drive is fairly straight-forward. Naturally, we used GPS to guide us but there is signage along the way as well.

Upon approach to the gardens, you pass through a gatehouse where you purchase your day pass. At the time we attended, adults cost $30.80 for a full day pass, and the kids were free because they were under 5 years old. You can go check their website to find updated costs just in case!

There were so many amazing and unusual flowers in Butchart Gardens!

Once parked and settled, we headed towards the garden entrance. Just before you enter the official garden space, there is a plaza called the Waterwheel Square where you can find the gift shop, a cafeteria, a plant identification station and all of those amenities of a tourist establishment. Since we had arrived early in the morning to beat the crowds, we stopped in the Square for a quick coffee and breakfast. There were no hot breakfast items like eggs or pancakes or anything like that. Instead, we enjoyed some baked goods, which was good enough for us!

Fed and caffeinated (or juiced) we are ready to explore the gardens!

Then it was time to explore! When you arrive at Butchart Gardens, they hand you a very helpful and detailed map, which shows you the official 'loop' of the grounds. There are five main gardens that you can tour through, all following a sort of loop trail that prevents you from getting lost. You certainly don't have to follow that route, but we did so that we wouldn't miss anything.

A bountiful garden of tulips in Butchart Gardens.

We began in the Piazza where all of the restaurants and the Show Greenhouse were located. Inside the Piazza, there is a Florentine statue of a boar adorned with a placard promising that anyone who rubs his nose will be showered with luck. So we all took our turn rubbing Taca the Boar's nose, naturally! Beyond the warthog, there is a natural route visitors are expected to take, leading them through the garden on a rambling but ultimately circular route.

So many shades of purple! Butchart Gardens explodes with color!

We passed under a pergola festooned with creeping ivys and dripping with floral baskets of petunias. Beyond the pergola, we followed a wooded pathway which led us to a balcony with an incredible view.

Leaning over the balcony, you are treated to a panoramic view of the first 'official' garden in Butchart Gardens, the famous Sunken Garden. This is where the original limestone quarry was located, before the extremely creative Jenny Butchart had the mind to turn the worked-out wasteland into a luscious, vibrant garden. You can see the tall kiln stack of the cement plant in the distance beyond the Sunken Garden, all that remains to remind you that this piece of land used to look much, much different.

The iconic view of Butchart Garden's Sunken Garden.

To enter the Sunken Garden, you have to head down a few flights of switchback stairs, and then it is easy going from there. Beds of colourful flowers and blossoming trees line the pathway, which eventually leads you to the Ross Fountain, installed in the old Quarry Lake in 1964.

All of the pathways in Butchart Gardens are lined like this. Amazing!

I loved the Ross Fountain! It reminded me of a minuscule version of the fountains in Las Vegas' Bellagio - the pattern, height and motion of the Ross Fountain is forever changing, sometimes shooting straight up, sometimes waving in a hypnotic wave pattern, sometimes bubbling just above the surface. I could have stayed there all day watching it, but Parker lost interest a lot sooner than I, and we had to move on.

The Ross Fountain was more than a little hypnotic to watch.

Following the path, we moved up out of the bowl of the Sunken Garden and towards the Rose Carousel, which turned out to be my children's favourite place in the garden. The carousel is not free to ride, and cost us an extra $2 per person to ride. We decided to give it a try, and paid the fee. Sadly, as parents of young children, we were not allowed to ride our own horse: instead, we had to stand beside Avy and Parker and ensure they didn't fall. Fair enough, no one wants a crushed child. The kids loved every second.

The Rose Carousel was our family highlight of Butchart Gardens.

Past the carousel, we entered a large, open green space where concerts are held and fireworks are viewed every Saturday. The kids burned off some energy by running as far as they could, and I discovered a tree with sharp leaves reminding me of a cactus. Oh, the adventures!

Avy was in heaven riding the carousel - look at that excited face!

Once the kids were somewhat depleted, we continued on the trail. It led us to a beautiful Dragon Fountain where Parker attempted to take a swim. Wrangling him away from the water, we entered the Rose Garden.

The Rose Garden, but without any roses yet! 

Unfortunately, there were no roses to be seen since we were visiting in early May. It was fun to walk through the garden and read all of the crazy and creative rose names, but I was a little disappointed not to see what they all looked like. We did take my favourite family picture from our whole trip while standing under the rose-vined arches in the Rose Garden.

My new favourite family photo in the Rose Garden.

Next up was the Japanese Garden, which was very zen-like and peaceful, with flowing streams and fountains, bridges, statues, and archways. My kids loved crossing the pond using the stone pathway, hopping from flat rock to flat rock. We are lucky no one fell in!

The Japanese Garden was lush and green - so beautiful! 

Upon exiting the Japanese Garden, we strolled past the gigantic Star Pond, filled with exotic lilypads and nibbling ducks. A giant frog statue in the centre spewed water, keeping the pond from getting scummy.

At this point, the kids were tired and hot, and even I, an avid gardener, was starting to feel 'gardened out'. Luckily, the last stop was the Italian garden, with a gelateria selling cold, fresh ice cream. I have noticed a lot of our trips end with us eating ice cream, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Parker posing ever so casually in the Italian Garden.

We spent the entire morning touring around Butchart Gardens, and it was a lovely way to spend our time. Even the kids, who don't like gardening at home with me, were interested in all of the beautiful flowers, refreshing fountains, and especially the carousel. You don't have to be a garden enthusiast to enjoy what Butchart Gardens has to offer!