From lodgings at Oak Bay Guest House, my hubby Rick and I ramble daily through quiet Tudor-style neighborhoods and discover wondrous gardens.

Ada Beaven established Windsor Park Rose Garden in 1937 by donating over 500 roses.

Inside manicured hedges, we try telling time on the sundial and relax in scented serenity on a weathered stone bench. On at the next corner, we breathe herbal fragrances in a new scent garden. Looping through charming Oak Bay Village and along the picturesque shoreline we locate another garden featuring 1.4 acres of native plants, also endowed by Ada.  

Just beyond Oak Bay, we travel to the garden that love built, finding enchantment and inspiration. In 1920’s Paris, Peggy Pemberton-Carter and exiled Georgian Prince Nicholas Abkhazi fell madly in love; they married in 1946 and over 40 years transformed this rugged hillside into the exquisite Abkhazi Gardens. From their original summerhouse, we gaze over the passionate results of loving dedication. Lush landscapes swirl around ornamental evergreens, lofty century-old rhododendrons and towering Garry oaks. Coppery Japanese maples and weeping conifers tumble down rock-faces toward reflection pools; alpine flowers blossom profusely in rocky niches.

World-famous, the Butchart Gardens provides a worthwhile day trip from Victoria or Vancouver. For us it was just a short bus ride from Oak Bay. Open since 1904, this remarkable labour of love began with ton-after-ton of topsoil delivered by horse-cart from a nearby farm.  Jenny Butchart gradually transformed her husband’s unsightly limestone quarry into this wonderful garden… where she sometimes even dangled from a boson’s chair to tuck ivy into high rocky crevices. Jenny’s family continues her vision.

The original sunken gardens tantalize our senses. Pathways loop around stately trees, ponds and flowerbeds dizzy with color: feathery pink spirea, fleshy begonias, trumpeting petunias, vibrant impatiens and graceful purple, white and blue delphiniums. An antique fountain sprays silvery strands above the spring-fed pond.

Following a dahlia border sprouting gigantic flower heads, we wander toward extensive perfumed Rose Gardens flaunting 250 flamboyant varieties. Another pathway leads us through the vermillion Torii gate into the tranquil Japanese Garden. Above, classic Italian Gardens offer formal arrays, bronze sculptures… and refreshing gelatos. Lastly, the Mediterranean Gardens simply dazzle with showy succulents and other water-wise plants, including luxuriant portulacas and palms.

Day tripping around beautiful gardens near Victoria definitely motivates us to improve our less disciplined floral borders!

Victoria Garden Links:

• Abkhazi Garden
• Butchart Gardens

About the Author:
Chris Millikan is a freelance writer/photographer living near Vancouver, BC. As a former teacher and elementary school principal, Chris now presents articles as an inviting ‘curriculum’ depicting the joys of travel. Many BC community newspapers, Open Road Driver Magazine and Senior Living Magazine regularly publish her articles; In-flight Magazines, the Vancouver Sun and Province have also featured her stories. As BC Association of Travel Writers Vice President, she supports colleagues’ aspirations. And traveling off the beaten track with writer/photographer partner and hubby Rick, their published tales reflect great adventures. Their 2009 Kalama Award acknowledged an array of their stories reflecting the rich culture of Maui, Molokai and Lanai.

On Canada’s 145th birthday, we started celebrating with Vancouver Island’s biggest swap meet at Western Speedway in Langford. We’d camped next door at All Fun RV Park and Campground for the weekend and woke Sunday at 6:00 a.m. with the sound of vehicles going through the lot.

Too early for a race? Puzzled I peeked out to see vendors arriving for the All Fun Swap and Shop held on the race track from April-Sept, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The entrance fee is $2 unless you’re staying at the campground. Oh, what a perfect way to start Canada Day! We were prowling the aisles by 8:00 a.m. If you can’t find what you’re looking for at this swap meet, it probably doesn’t exist.

Our day trips from Victoria continued by heading up the Saanich Peninsula to Victoria Spirits, 6170 Old West Saanich Rd.   Along a pastoral road, we found this family run business. Peter Hunt, the Master Distiller’s background was in the field of cancer but now is producing Canada’s first premium gin. In his spare time he volunteers in Uganda building schools for Partnerships for Opportunity Development Association. He introduced us to the wood fired still which heats botanicals and produces an alcohol distillation at 85%. The first portion, the “heads” aren’t drinkable but they will run your car. You could be the only one on the block with a “gin fueled car.” The second portion, the hearts is 86% alcohol, still not drinkable. The third portion, the tails, is used for bitters which you can purchase upstairs in the tasting room. The hearts are blended, and spring water added to make a 45% spirit. Victoria Spirits are sold as far east as Quebec and up to the Yukon. Upstairs in the tasting room, we were introduced to Oaken Gin, Victoria Gin, Hemp Vodka, Gin Bitters, and distilled wine. Oh my, so delicious!

Peter recommended going across the street to de Vine Vineyards. Overlooking the Saanich peninsula de Vine Vineyards panoramic setting is breath taking. Inside, an outrageously beautiful blown glass chandelier shaped like a berry made by Chris Windsor with Yesterday’s Sand graced the room. Ryan Windsor introduced us to the wine selection. De Vine Vineyards started in 2007, and now produces 24,000 bottles annually. We left there with a bottle of crisp Pinot Gris.

The last stop was Canada’s birthday party taking place in and around Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Colorfully outfitted crowds on the Parliament Buildings lawn were being entertained. Down in the harbour, buskers made people laugh, and vendors tempted with various crafts. We came away with seasoned sea salt made from local sea water, a dream catcher, and stomachs full of delicious Greek food. Thousands of people mingled, and munched. At the end of our day, we were pleasantly tired from all the things we’d experienced. Victoria and area overflows with a wide variety of things to “swap, sip and see” any time of year.

About the author:

Barb Rees, travel writer, author, and speaker, with husband Dave has taken four working holidays from coast to coast to northern coast of Canada. She is passionate about finding human interest stories. It’s reflected in her books. They include: “RV Canada On A Dime And A Dream,” “RV Canada With Boo The Menopausal Van,” and the latest “RV Canada’s Far North On A Dream.” The fourth in the series will be on tour to Newfoundland in 2013.Owner of LoveToGo Writing she can be reached in Powell River, BC at www.write2dream.com

Year round floral spectacles may inspire a day trip from Vancouver to Victoria, BC, where a passion for gardening is evident everywhere. Riotous flowers adorn boulevards and store fronts; hanging baskets, wooden tubs, classy ceramic urns, window boxes and yards overflow with rainbow colors.

Often staying in Victoria a couple of days, we launch daily garden visits from our lodgings. During teatime in the Villa Marco Polo’s classic Italian garden, the innkeeper tells us that every February Victoria announces her billion plus flower count to snowbound Canada. And throughout the summer, there are gazillions more to find…

Wanting to view as many flowers as possible, my husband Rick and I start by exploring the unique public collections surrounding nearby Government House. The Sunken Rose Garden features contemporary and heritage blooms surrounding a tiered antique fountain; a carved Salish orca supports a sundial among flowering lavender, sage, basil and mustard in the adjacent Herb Garden. Winsome buttercups, foxgloves and other wildflowers are sprinkled throughout the preserved Garry Oak forest.

Former Lieutenant Governor Lam established the formal Victorian Rose Gardens. Even earlier, another Lieutenant Governor planted ornamental shrubs and evergreens on shady Pearkes Peak, three rocky ‘islands’ surrounded by grass. And our present Lieutenant Governor hosts summer programs on those lush lawns.  At Robert Dunsmuir’s regal Craigdarroch Castle, we notice garden areas being re-established.

Victoria’s wondrous and historic park is a pleasant walk away. Beacon Hill Park was established in 1882 when Scottish landscaper John Blair planted over 2,000 trees and shrubs, some of which are now rare and endangered. Today’s visitors can putt greens, feed dabbling ducks, watch peacocks strut, even clip-clop under oak canopies in horse-drawn carriages…or like us, delight in the alpine rock gardens and roam the endless beds of brilliantly blooming perennials.

Just outside Victoria we also visit the under reported garden treasure at Hatley Castle, a suburban mansion once belonging to James, Robert Dunsmuir’s son. Now open to the public for a small fee, this former Colwood estate boasts nine traditional ‘garden rooms.’  A classical Italian garden stretches below the ocean view balcony. Nearby, a meticulous Japanese garden retains its original Zen essence, which was bestowed by a Yokohama garden master at the turn of the century. There’s also a fragrant Rose garden and restored century-old greenhouse.  And nature continues to abound on this large estate. A wildlife sanctuary encircles a saltwater lagoon and fifteen-kilometers of trails loop through urban forest.

Visits to Greater Victoria’s gardens provide us with days filled with beauty and inspiration.

When You Go:

• Villa Marco Polo: www.villamarcopolo.com
• Hatley Castle: www.hatleycastle.com

About the Author:
Chris Millikan is a freelance writer/photographer living near Vancouver, BC.  As a former teacher and elementary school principal, Chris now presents articles as an inviting ‘curriculum’ depicting the joys of travel. Many BC community newspapers, Open Road Driver Magazine and Senior Living Magazine regularly publish her articles; In-flight Magazines, the Vancouver Sun and Province have also featured her stories. As BC Association of Travel Writers Vice President, she supports colleagues’ aspirations.  And traveling off the beaten track with writer/photographer partner and hubby Rick, their published tales reflect great adventures. Their 2009 Kalama Award acknowledged an array of their stories reflecting the rich culture of Maui, Molokai and Lanai.