Victoria, British Columbia
The moon set to the east of the city of Victoria, British Columbia as the Sea Lion pulled into the main harbor. We were celebrating a Harvest moon with an early wake-up call to watch the moon setting over mirror like waters in many shades of pink, pale blues and a touch of purple! Slowly the Sea Lion approached her customary slip and prepared lines for a day spent in the capitol-city and port of Victoria. We were facing the Empress Hotel while the parliament and government buildings were to our right and the center of the shopping district to our left. Our day in this Canadian City had some activities planned, with enough time to enjoy a wander up and down the busy streets. Musicians, artists, and a street fair added an even higher level of activity to the many galleries and a myriad of shops all open to the warm and sunny streets, bustling with passersby.
During breakfast our expedition leader made her announcements concerning our days activities. A bus would be available to take all of us interested to Butchart Gardens. Disembarkation commenced at 8:30 AM with a short walk to our waiting bus. Lisa, our guide was waiting outside the bus and would provide a short commentary while we made our way about thirty minutes outside Victoria to Butchart Gardens. We would be spending our time in part of 180 acres that includes many multiple plantings of gorgeously arranged flowers.
The garden is located in Tod Inlet and was the home of the Butchart family since 1904. Mr. Butchart was attracted to this area because of the rich limestone deposits. At the turn of the century Mr. Butchart was an extremely successful pioneer manufacturing cement, and was president of a leading Pacific Northwest operation called Portland Cement. Mr. Butchart expanded his operation too include this area of Vancouver Island and the present location of Butchart Gardens. As Mr. Butchart exhausted the limestone in the quarry which was located near his home, his enterprising wife, Jenny, conceived a plan, unheard of until that time. She decided to take the bleak and empty pit and fill it with nearby topsoil and begin a life long project of making gardens that started with what is today, the sunken garden within Butchart Gardens. By 1908, reflecting their world travels the Butcharts created both the Italian garden and the Japanese garden. The rose garden was created from an old vegetable garden patch and was added on the other gardens in 1929.
The Butchart gardens became famous and by the late nineteen twenties more than fifty thousand people had visited this private home turned public garden. The Butchart gardens remain under family ownership being passed down through children and then grandchildren. Carrying own Jenny Butchart’s work, the gardens have established an international reputation. Millions of visitors make a journey from their respective homes around the world to the Sannich peninsula of Vancouver Island in British Columbia to spend a few hours mesmerized by the beauty of color and design created by constantly maintained flower beds, trees and shrubs. Each year over 100,000 bedding plants in some 700 varieties are planted throughout the Butchart Gardens to ensure uninterrupted bloom from March through October. We continued that tradition, and walked at a wonderfully slow pace, watching the light change and the dew evaporate from an unimaginable array of flowers…All to soon, we were called back to our waiting bus and continued our tour of a small section of Vancouver Island making our way back to the harbor in the Center of Victoria. The Sea Lion anxiously awaited our arrival onboard with a prepared lunch awaiting us in the dining room.
After lunch we had several options. We could wander across the harbor to the Provincial Museum and/or begin our wander of the shopping streets of Victoria. A high light for some of us was a visit to Rogers’ Chocolates. Charles W. (Candy) Rogers began making his world famous chocolate in 1885 in the back of his grocery shop in Victoria. Little has changed in the Victorian-style shop on Government Street in downtown Victoria during the last one hundred and seventeen years! Rogers’ Chocolates still uses old family recipes along with hand-wrapping each delectable treat, not to mention having dark chocolate bars of 72% cocoa! And to a chocolate connoisseur this is the ultimate test and delight!
