For decades, flower fans from all over the world have been coming to South Island to admire the splendid beauty of the area’s many gardens. Celebrating its 100th birthday this year, the Butchart Gardens is the most famous of them all and features twenty hectares of display gardens.
Beauty and education combine at the 44.5-hectare Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, a fascinating place with demonstration gardens, display gardens, and woodlands. Recently designated a national historic site, the 14-hectare grounds at Government House consist of six hectares of ornamental gardens in various styles and eight hectares of garry oak woodland. The Abkhazi Garden, although small by comparison at less than half a hectare, is magnificent and has a romantic history as the home of exiled Georgian Prince Nicholas Abkhazi and Peggy Pemberton-Carter. Hatley Park, the campus of Royal Roads University, offers more floral
splendor, as well as a picturesque lake, heritage trees, and an historic castle. The University of Victoria’s Finnerty Garden is the place to see rhododendrons in the spring, Oak Bay’s Windsor Garden is renowned for its roses, and Beacon Hill Park offers shaded pathways through formal gardens and wildflower meadows.
To see South Island’s gardens with a local flower fan, sign up for a tour which can include private and public gardens. |
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