a present from oversees?
there are several nicely designed ponds
without hesitations we give priority to this proud member of the critter control brigade
the stairs seem to flow naturally into the Sunken Garden
checking out the flowers
the Sunken Garden was built in the hole that was left after all the limestone was mined
the deer on the 9th at Cordova Bay Golf really takes your pace down
all that green vegan stuff makes one hungry for a real bite
in the Japanese Garden you have to watch your step
seems like fifty shades of green linger around the Dining Room
this is the Ross Fountain, named after grandson Ian Ross who inherited the gardens in 1939
The Butchart family made their fortune
by producing Portland Cement from a rich limestone quarry at the Tod Inlet. By 1909 the quarry was exhausted and all
that was left was an ugly hole.
At that time the local rich and powerful competed on who had the nicest garden.
Jennie Butchart decided to enter the race and with some help from their Chinese workforce had the Sunken Garden built
inside the quarry hole.
Soon the hobby got out of hand and more and more theme gardens were designed, constructed and perfected.
The Butchart family has continued this process ever since. Each year more than a million visitors flock to the Gardens to marvel
at the results of a century's work of high class gardening.
We visited in June 2007 and enjoyed the
views, waterfalls and sculptures at the 5 differently themed gardens.
Later in the afternoon we visited Cordova
Bay Golf Course for a last round of golf before heading back to the mainland.
the entrance to the garden is a popular photo opportunity
it all started with the Sunken Garden
there is no garden without gardener and the work never stops
in Canada no garden is complete without its own totempole
on the ferry back to Vancouver we enjoy far-away Mount Baker glowing in the afternoon sun
