Butchart Gardens and the Butterfly Gardens of Victoria

Today Liz, Mike and I went to Butchart Gardens and the Butterfly Gardens of Victoria. They were both really cool. I played around with my camera and got some great shots of the butterflies and chrysalises up close. The gardens were spectacular and they are not fully in bloom, crocuses are out though and the bushes throughout were dense, tall and trimmed well. It would be nice to come back in the summer when it is in full bloom, though it was spectacular today. We walked through it for two hours.

It was a cement factory and as the husband finished with an area his wife turned it into a garden. She used a device similar to what a window washer uses to plant vines into the crevices on the cliffs. They had/have TONS of money. The gardens are over 100 years old. They left the gardens to their grandson who inherited them when he was 21 with enough money to maintain the gardens for his entire lifetime. It turns out the grandson is the founder of the University of Victoria.

The Butterfly Gardens were neat with butterflies flying all over the place and flamingoes in the centre pond.

Click on the following link to see the photos


http://picasaweb.google.com/sarahemoloney/ButchartGardensAndTheButterflyGardenSOfVictoria