The Butchart Gardens PDF Print E-mail
Friday, 04 June 2004 00:00
This morning after breakfast Helen went off to walk the beach while Rick and I got organized for the day. A few minutes later she came back all excited looking for her camera so she could get a picture of the huge jellyfish that had been left on the beach when the tide went out. We all headed back to the beach, took pictures and enjoyed the changes from last night when the tide was in. A local resident told us that when the tide goes out tomorrow, it will be the farthest it has been out in 90 years. How this is known is not something I am privy to, however I will investigate further.
 
We decided to explore the famed Butchart Gardens for the afternoon so we headed out at noon. The weather was sunny and we were expecting a high of 23C, so it was a perfect day to stroll this beautiful 100-year-old landmark.
 
The first thing we did was head to the Blue Poppy Restaurant, one of four eateries at The Butchart Gardens site where we enjoyed a delicious lunch surrounded by some of the exquisite plant life. We strolled through the gardens along with hundreds of other tourists from all parts of the world. The gardens were built in 1904 at the site of an abandoned limestone quarry by Mr. and Mrs. Robert and Jennie Butchart and now attract over one million visitors annually. They are stunning, worth the time to see and can make everyone appreciate the beauty of nature. Because we will be here for a long time and the gardens change so much with the different blooms, we bought seasons passes and will come back often.
 
We ended our afternoon by taking a short drive through Sidney close by and then we headed back to our campsite. The weather is changing tomorrow so we chose a good day enjoy one of Victoria's many attractions.