I loved Buchart gardens and if I could only do one thing in Victoria that is what I would do.

I am into cottage gardens with lots of classic perennials. I think it gave me a better appreciation for design (sounds like a good idea, duh), structure, "garden rooms" and themes. There are two trees in my garden that whenever I look at them now I am reminded by two very tall skinny trees at Buchart, they were kind of landmarks there and I didn't appreciate them fully at home.

We didn't do tea. I had to go early in the spring. Not the best in terms of garden flowers but still a lot. Also, took my kids & husband who all know how important it was to me and were great sports.

Sorry, I haven't been to that many pubic gardens and not to Portland so I cannot compare.

There are great gardens in Victoria everywhere. Around the Empress & Parliment building. We also took a double decker tour and went thru neighborhoods. I was impressed by the hedges as we have laurel hedge and it's going to be the death of me.

Enjoy your trip and let us know if you go to the Buchart and how you like it.

We live an hour's drive north of Victoria and I still love going to Butchart Gardens. It's lovely in every season. There are other public gardens that have a great reputation but I haven't been to them all. They are Finnerty Gardens at UVIC,free admission, Glendale Gardens the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific $7.50, which is into native plants, Abkhazi Gardens $10, The Lieutenant Governmer's House known as Government House, free and Hatley Park Gardens $9. Some of these are primarily rhodie gardens which of course is over, but perhaps check their web pages to see if any of these are of interest to you. There are a huge number of public garden spaces which are just lovely. Recently, they have been using a lot more tropical plants, especially around the inner harbour. Victoria is just a lovely city and I hope you find it as lovely as we do. There are lots of good places to eat and lots of things to do that are free. If you want any special info, just ask.
Dorothy

You'll love Victoria - we go there a couple times a year. Yes, do go to Butchart. If you have time, the Natural History Museum is great. Enjoy the city itself too!

I would not miss Butchart Gardens. The Oregon Garden is no comparison. It is much smaller and much younger and not the same style at all. I've been to Butchart Gardens five times and in spring, summer and fall. It is always spectacular.

Victoria is a very special city you are going to have a blast. Take plenty of film or memory cards.

If you are taking the Coho from Port Angeles get up front on deck to see the view as you come around into the Inner Harbour. It is so amazing to see the first time.

I had been there recently 2 week ago. I will say it is definitely worth a trip. This was my second trip since 2000 and the first trip since I have been a serious gardener. One thing I have learnt that they are not classified as organic garden which was a bit of surprise to me.

=lz

I went on July 1st and it was lovely. :) The rose garden was my favourite part. Glendale is great too. Government House is supposed to be wonderful but I hate to admit I've lived in Victoria for 33 years but I've never been!

Amy

It's one the best in North America. Don't miss it for anything. :)
You're probably also going through Vancouver to get there. Stop in at the Queen Victoria Gardens. Not even nearly as big, but it's high quality, and it's free.

Buchart is so beautiful it may make you cry.
I took a garden tour in England, and Buchart is on a par with their best, only lacking a ruined castle.
I've eaten in their 'cafeteria' style restaurant. The food was very good, and the atmosphere is incredible with hanging pots everywhere.
Make sure you save some time for the gift shop. You might want to bring back some packets of seeds.
Daphne in Tacoma

We've been in Victoria, known as the City of Gardens, 15 years now and try to get to Butchard every year and always take our visitors to see it. There is a diverse variety of trees,shrubs, always brilliant color, water features, entertainment(fireworks on Saturday evenings)and much more. Also consider a trip to Finnerty Gardens at UVic (free and quite large), Gendale Gardens (formerly Horticulture of the Pacific), Government House Gardens (free and quite large)and Royal Rhodes Gardens. If you're heading to Vancouver, I really recommend Van Dusen Gardens. Queen Elizabeth Park is free. And if you can, do try to get out to stunning Minter Gardens, about 60 miles east of Vancouver...it is really breathtaking and admission is very reasonable. Depending on your garden addiction, you can easily spend half a day at Butchard, Finnerty, Minter and Van Dusen.

I been to Minter, Van Dusen, Queen Elizabeth, Government House but Butchart is the best!

No one with any interest in gardening should miss it. Heck, I drug five ladies who had NO interest in gardening and they loved it.

My former employer used to park his yacht in the Inner Harbour and send us up to use it for a hotel as a perk. It was a great time.

Now that I don't work there anymore, I'm passed due to return to Victoria.

Even a lifelong, been-to-every-public-garden-in-the-area-and-not-usually-impressed gardener like myself gets a charge every time I visit Buchart's. The visuals are simply stunning in virtually any season, I always find something new to pique my interest (last trip it was the trees, which I'd never really appreciated before) and I am constantly amazed at the immaculate maintenance of the place. I swear they unleash an entire army every night after closing to deadhead and groom as you never see so much as a fallen petal!!

Yes, it's worth the trip and the admission fee and make sure you allow for plenty of time - take time out for lunch or tea, you'll need the break - and don't forget the camera!

The only public garden I think I've enjoyed quite so much as Buchart's is the Huntington in California and only because I'm a sucker for succulents and desert tropicals.

THANKS EVERYONE!! I'm really getting excited to see it now! I got a book from the library on Garden Walks in the Northwest and they recommend other areas as well- even Stanley Park.

I've taken notes on all your great recomendations- you're the best!!

Gardengal- I'm from California and I ADORE the Huntington- the Gardens, the Museum and the Tea Room!! My favorites are the Japanese Garden, the Shakespeare Garden and the Rose Garden.

Ellen, I was at the Huntington in late winter, so the rose garden was not looking its finest :-) But the Desert garden was amazing!! One of the largest and oldest collection of cacti and succulents in the world. I spent hours there (I'm sure I bored my sister to death) oohing and ahhing over every single plant, many of which were in full bloom, and ducking the hummingbirds, which were having a banquet feeding on all the nectar. I also appreciated the New Zealand and Australian collection very much - my kind of plants! And the museum was great, too. A very enjoyable visit.

The desert garden is amazing. I spent over four hours on that alone. The museum with all the etchings and the original Blue Boy by Gainsborough was fantastic!

It's been some time since I was at Butchart Gardens. I'm due for a visit.

I don't understand your comment about the entrance fee - 'double exchange rate'. I just checked and the US dollar is still worth more than the Canadian, though not much. So the entrance fee of $25 Canadian is less than $24 US.

I guess I was going on the fact that I looked at the Empress Hotel Afternoon Tea prices and was quite surprised at the $50 per person price tag. I would've thought maybe $25.00.

Then I asked friends at work who have been and they said they found things to be twice the price that they thought Portland charged.

My husband is English, so I leaned toward the thought that the exchange rate wasn't going to work in our favor (didn't even check ;-) since buying things for our England relatives has been a bit pricey lately (grin)

At any rate, I am very excited to see everything, I have wanted to go to BC ever since I was in advertising and kept seeing gorgeous pictures while looking for images in stock photo books-9 times out of 10 they always turned out to be British Columbia!

Thanks for all your posts, I so appreciate your thoughts!!!

Side note about the Empress afternoon tea. I first enjoyed it about 20 years ago. Very English, very much fun.

Two years ago I took my mother, two aunts and sister to the Empress afternoon tea and was very disappointed. It's now very commercialized, very expensive, and really not worth what they charge.
I think a visit to a tea room would be just as much fun for a lot less spent.

Personally I enjoy going to Murchie's Tea and Coffee

Just mho

Here is a link that might be useful: Murchies Tea and Coffee

When I visited Victoria (with two grade school aged sons) my time in gardens was limited. I found public parks where the kids could run and I photographed awesome dahlias.

We went to Butchart Gardens and stayed for the evening fireworks which were the the highlight of the trip for the boys. They were much different than the usual fireworks displays. It's been years, but I think there were some stories told with matching fireworks "scenes". Music, too. Really spectacular. I believe they are only in the summer months, and maybe not every evening, so check ahead of time. We retrieved a blanket and jackets from the car before the fireworks as seating was on the lawn.

I came upon a double decker bus one day heading out on a driving tour of neighborhoods, and just followed the bus. Saw amazing houses and landscaping. Worth every penny:)

It truly feels like another continent going to Victoria. Been trying to get back again ever since. Have a terrific time.

When I had visited Victoria and Vancouver in 2000, I found
that it was generally more expensiive there. Most tourist attractions had entrance fees unlike here, also food and groceries were somewhat more costly. The US dollar exchange rate was at 1.25 or so then. However, this year in July with US dollar at 1.07 or so to Canadian dollar, visits to Buchart G, Grouse Mountain, Vancouver Aquarim the expense seemed quite significant. We still enjoyed so much, we plan to visit again in year or two, there are a lot more places yet to cover. I will definitely say Vancouver is like the New York of the West Coast, it has change a lot in 7 years.

-lg

Ellen, if you want to have tea there are loads of tea rooms around here that are less expensive. You can walk through the Empress but you don't need to pony up for that expense.

La Tea Da in Tillamook is excellent as is Pomeroy House in Yacolt WA (a lovely drive a few minutes from Battleground) Lady Di's in Lake Oswego has tons of English foods and gifts available for sale as well as being owned and run by an English lady. There is the Carnelian Rose Tea Co in Vancouver and the Oregon Tea Garden in Silverton. Windsor House of Tea in Astoria. There is the ANZAC Tea Parlour in The Dalles.

I've eaten or had tea at all of these tea rooms. I sell tea and teapots wholesale and they are all my customers.

For anyone interested in desert gardens the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix AZ is wonderful. Especially in spring when the cacti and wildflowers are blooming.

Yes, tea at the Empress is "frightfully" expensive. I thought we should get the china teapot too for the price. It was just about $50 for a few miserable sandwhiches with the crusts cut off, a few dainties, and tea. Not worth it! We have English guests at the moment and they are finding things here really cheap! So I guess it's relative. As a resident, I really want you to have a wonderful holiday and spend your money on what is really worth it. Definitely Butchart Gardens. But for free, there's all kinds of things to do. Beacon Hill park is right downtown and just lovely. The drive through the "Uplands" along the waterfront is very special. And, at the moment there is a turf war over the tourist hop-on, hop-off trolleys, so be sure to check where they are going and the rate. When are you going?

Thanks for the great ideas!,

August 19-24...Vancouver, Victoria and a little scenic driving down through the Peninsula on the way home. Wanted to do the fireworks, but I think they are over a weekend.

We've been to Lady Di's, lately husband's been going to a Scottish shop in NE, not sure...

You guys are the best!
Ellen

Wave at me if you go through Discovery Bay on Hwy 101!

I last visited Butchart gardens in 1998. Some of the trees/shrubs were nice. The overall effect of millions of blobs of overfertilized annuals was, well, not my cup of tea. Welcome to blobville, ack! Perhaps things have changed in 9 years, but probably not too much.

My favorite desert gardens are the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Superior, AZ, and the Sonoran Desert Museum west of Tucson.

Zone 8 Grandma, I'll be waving at you a lot this fall on my way between Poulsbo and Sequim.

I've been to Boyce Thompson and the Sonoran Desert Museum many times. They are both well worth visiting if in Arizona. The Sonoran Desert Museum is actually a zoo and botanical garden of all native to the Sonoran Desert plants and animals with state of the art naturalistic enclosures for the animals.

All of Butchart is not bedding annuals. There is a very nice Japanese Garden, rose garden, perennial gardens. When you go in fall you really see how many Japanese maples and other trees and shrubs that have great color there are. You tend to miss them in summer. Going during early spring too there are so many shrubs in bloom it seems like there are many more than in summer.

We've been concentrating on Victoria and haven't arranged your itinery for Vancouver! Definitely Stanley Park (free) and the walk along the waterfront towards Canada Place. They have been developing a lovely walk with plantings there and there is a Marine Pub. We went there when it was new and it wasn't good but that was last year. There is a water park for children that makes me wish I were 5 again. I flew into the harbour a couple of weeks ago and walked from the airplane terminal along this walk and thought it was one of the prettiest waterfronts I've seen. I also like the little ferries to Granville Island and visiting the market there. The market has a lot of great produce, etc. and there are some unique little gift shops there. It's a great place to just hang out -- buskers, people, fun.

Not to discourage you from visiting Vancouver, but the city of Vancouver is experiencing a public works strike so things like Stanley Park's water park probably won't be operational. But maybe the parking might be free, since the meterpeople should also be on strike? Stanley Park itself is open and a walk around the seawall is always relaxing. Most of the suburbs have already settled, so business will be back to normal there. And, while I remember, another garden worth visiting is UBC's Botanical Garden which is a plantaholic's dream. They also have a good garden shop with lots of great gardening books (some British ones too), plants, seeds, etc. Admission is a reasonalbe $7 Cdn per adult, free for children under 18. Have a great holiday but bring an umbrella. This is a dampish summer!

Queen Elizabeth Park has lovely free gardens and the Bloedel Conservatory is an interesting rainforest and desert inside the dome at the top of the park.

I love the Vancouver Public Aquarium in Stanley Park too.

hello everyone, I do not usually post on this forum but looking through the posts I see that no one mentioned Beacon Hill Park, it is lovely and I often walk through there. It also features a Heronry but the eagles chased all the herons away in the spring so we are hoping that they will return next year. If you do visit the heronry look up and see huge nests. Government House gardens are wonderful, sorry I think they are better than Bucharts, also worth a visit Abkhazi Garden. Victoria is the city of gardens so I wish you a wonderful visit, I love living here. And, oh yes, save your money and go to The Blethering Place in Oak Bay for high tea.