Thompson Travelers

I’ve always read that when in Victoria, you must stop and see the Buchart Gardens.  Not so sure as to what’s the big deal about a garden, but whoa, this is a definitely a landscape to behold.

In 1904, Robert and Jennie Buchart came to this area because of the rich resource of limestone deposits necessary for their cement business.  They built a home on the premise where Jenny began to craft her garden.

Once the limestone pit was depleted, Jenny began to make something of beauty in the exhausted quarry.  Their first endeavor was the spectacular Sunken Garden.

In 1907, the Japanese Garden was added, designed by a Japanese gardener who had come to America to design for a local park.

In 1929, the tennis court was replaced with The Italian Gardens.

In 1929, the Bucharts gave the gardens to their grandson Ross for his 21st birthday. He was involved with it’s operation and promotion for the next 58 years.  It was then passed on to their great granddaughter.

In 1953, miles of underground lighting were added to provide night illumination to the gardens, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the gardens.  I had my doubts about visiting the gardens at sunset, but it’s really a nice time because the crowds are smaller, the weather is cooler, and the atmospheric lighting is really beautiful.

The thing that amazed me the most was the fact that there are no weeds anywhere.  There is not a dead leaf or a brown edged flower.  There is no flower debris.  There is not a twig out of place.  Every plant, petal, flower, and bloom is perfect.  How can this be?  It looks like the Disneyland of gardens and you start to question if it is real because everything is so perfect.   It may have something to do with the fact that they have over 250 gardeners, and employ over 700 people to keep Buchart Gardens looking the way that it does.

The Ross Fountain was installed to mark the 60th anniversary…Imagine having a mini version of the light show from the Belliagio in your back yard…

For the 100th Anniversary, two 30′ totem poles were installed and Buchart Gardens became a national historic site.  In 2009, they added a full sized carousel.

Time spent in this garden is inspirational, beautiful, peaceful and serene.  Now, I have to go home and work on my own yard.  The bar has been set really high.  I have a lot of work to do and I’m tired already just thinking about how much work it will be!