Butchart Gardens: A Deep Dive into Canada's Most Visited Garden
The Butchart Gardens, 22 kilometres north of Victoria on Vancouver Island, are one of the world's most-visited private gardens, with around a million visitors a year. The 22-hectare display garden, begun by Jennie Butchart in 1908 to re-cover an exhausted limestone quarry, is now a Canadian National Historic Site.
The quarry
Robert Butchart's Portland cement factory operated on the site from 1904 to 1908. When the limestone was exhausted, the quarry was a 17-metre-deep open pit with sheer rock walls — a scar on the landscape.
The Sunken Garden
Jennie Butchart's most famous creation, begun in 1908 by hauling topsoil into the quarry on horse-drawn carts. She planted ivy on the walls and laid out the garden with a small lake and Ross Fountain at the centre. Considered her masterpiece.
The Japanese Garden
Designed in 1906 by Isaburo Kishida, a Yokohama-born landscape gardener brought to Victoria by the Butcharts, with traditional stone lanterns, pruned pines and a torii gate.
The Italian Garden
Designed in 1926 on the site of the Butcharts' former tennis court, with formal cross paths and a central pool. The geometry contrasts sharply with the rest of the garden.
The Rose Garden
Begun in the 1920s and reorganised in 1929, with the kitchen garden converted to a formal display rose garden of 2,500 plants.
The Christmas illuminations
Since 1960, Butchart has been famous for its winter illumination season (December to early January), with the entire garden lit and a 70-foot Christmas tree.
Visiting
Open year-round, with peak season June to September. Reach by ferry from mainland British Columbia. The garden's owners maintain it as a private family business — the great-granddaughter of Jennie Butchart still chairs the company.
Explore on the map
All of the gardens mentioned in this article are pinned on the interactive map. Use it to plan a route, group nearby sites into a single trip, or compare gardens by style and season.