Have you ever wondered what to do with an old quarry? How about transforming it into beautiful gardens? That ‘s what Jennie Butchart did. Her husband, Robert Pim Butchart, owned a limestone quarry, which supplied his Portland cement plant. When the quarry no longer could be worked, Mrs. Butchart had the idea to transform it into beautiful gardens. This was in1904. Today the gardens, which are designated a National Historic Site of Canada are visited by almost a million visitors annually. The Gardens are a skillful mixture of rare and exotic shrubs, trees and flowers, collected by the Butchards during their extensive world travels. They are divided into five separate gardens: The Sunken Garden, the Japanese Garden, the Rose Garden, the Italian Garden and the Mediterranean Garden. We started out on the path (with Apollo because dogs are allowed) that took us around through all the Gardens. The weather was beautiful and we took in the fantastic scenery that engulfed us. The only disappointing note was that the rare Himalayan Blue Poppy was not in bloom, hence we had to forego the antidote for Mitch’s occasional bouts of werewolfism.

The Sunken Garden

Hydrangea

Ross Fountain

Dancing Fountain

 

View of Sound from Japanese Garden

Canadian Sunset in Rose Garden

Fuchsia

Italian Garden

Residence Garden

Apollo plays chess