From Flowers To Fantasy Vancouver Island’s Famed Butchart Gardens Light Up A Beautiful Holiday Season

The roses, dahlias, begonias and other flowers that grace Victoria’s famed Butchart Gardens in the spring, summer and fall are gone when we visit on a clear chilly day in late December.

But my husband, James, and I haven’t come to see the magnificent floral displays. We’re here instead to see a fantasyland of Christmas lights that illuminate the gardens from Dec. 6 through Jan. 6.

The scent of cedar surrounds us on the pathway to the Sunken Garden where we begin our self-guided walking tour in late afternoon. Colored lights in the trees and bushes seem to warm the crisp air as they sparkle against the somber gray sky.

In September, an eight-member lighting crew began stringing up the thousands of twinkling lights that now decorate the 50-acre showplace. Christmas trees and other seasonal displays are installed. Fencing along the pathways is draped with cedar boughs and red bows.

The gardens are the legacy of Jenny Butchart, a warm, sociable lady who was full of fun and would have loved all the Christmas lights.

She was born in Toronto and married Robert Pim Butchart, a pioneer in the manufacture of Portland cement in Canada. The extensive limestone deposits on the Saanich Peninsula drew the Butcharts and their two daughters to Vancouver Island in 1904, when Robert built a cement factory at Tod Inlet.

Around 1912, Jenny grew tired of gazing out at the exhausted limestone quarry that scarred the view near their home. She began to visualize a garden covering the bleak pit. Under her direction, tons of rocky debris were removed and replaced with rich topsoil brought to the quarry by horse and cart from neighboring farms.

Trees, shrubs and flowering plants were carefully placed in what is now the Sunken Garden. It wasn’t unusual to see Jenny hanging over the edge of the limestone walls in a bosun’s chair, tucking in ivy among the boulders. The deepest part of the quarry was lined and filled with water to create a lake fed by a waterfall and stream.

James and I move to the edge of the lookout over the Sunken Garden. Below us, glittering red, green, blue and white lights outline pathways, bushes and trees. A waterfall fashioned out of twinkling blue lights cascades down a hillside. We wander the lighted pathways like a yellow brick road leading toward the Ross Fountain.

In winter, the fountain’s water is replaced with an enchanting display of moving colored lights. Transfixed by their dance, we linger at the overlook until we get chilled. Just a few feet down the pathway, we come to an outdoor refreshment stand where we stop for a cup of hot apple cider and an eggnog cappuccino.

We continue down the pathway past the Fountain of the Three Sturgeons and the elaborately decorated Star Pond to the Italian Garden. Green, red, blue and white lights surrounding the pool reflect off the mermaid and fish statuary in the water. Cascades of tiny lights rise out of the pool and other statuary on the lawn.

A lighted pathway leads towards the piazza in front of the Butchart residence.

A group of Christmas carolers and the Island Fanfare Brass have assembled in front of two towering Christmas trees in the piazza. “Silent night, holy night” rings out over the crowd.

Small groups of visitors chatting in a dozen languages pass us that evening, a reminder of the mix of nationalities that now call nearby Victoria home.

“The Christmas lighting tradition began in 1987, but many people don’t realize we decorate the gardens for the holidays,” says the garden’s public relations director, Chryseis Sheppard. “We get mostly locals this time of year.”

In 1928 the Butcharts gave the gardens to their grandson, R. Ian Ross. Now in his 70s, Ross continues to manage the garden.

Locals and out-of-town visitors alike will find the gardens a festive holiday destination. If you visit, leave some time to check out the unique Christmas gifts available in the Seed and Gift Store.

It’s full of decorating and gift ideas, such as holiday ornaments, handcrafted wreaths - even preserves prepared in the Butchart Gardens kitchen. Jenny would have liked that.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: IF YOU GO Getting there By car: You can reach Vancouver Island by ferry from Horseshoe Bay, just north of Vancouver, Britsish Columbia, or the Tsawwassen ferry south of the city. Leaving approximately every hour on the hour, the ferry from Tsawwassen to Schwartz Bay on Vancouver Island takes one hour and 35 minutes. Fares (one way): Car: $27 (Canadian), driver or passenger: $6.50. On foot: Clipper Navigation offers pedestrian-only transportation aboard the Victoria Clipper from the waterfront in downtown Seattle to Victoria’s Inner Harbor. For information, call Clipper Navigation (206) 448-5000. By air: Victoria International Airport, served by a variety of airlines, is only a short taxi ride from the Gardens.

Days, hours Holiday hours of Butchart Gardens: Dec. 6-Dec. 14: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Dec. 15-Jan. 6: 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Christmas lights are turned on from 3:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. seven days a week Dec. 6 through Jan 6. Strollers, wheelchairs and umbrellas are available at the entrance booth at no charge. Admission: Dec. 6 through Jan. 6: Adults $7.50 (Canadian), 13-17 $3.75; 5-12 $1. Food: There are two restaurants on the grounds. The Dining Room at the original Butchart residence serves breakfast, lunch and a full dinner. Lighter meals and snacks are offered in the flower-filled greenhouse at the Blue Poppy Restaurant.

Tours Grayline of Victoria offers two hour bus tours to the Butchart Gardens leaving from a bus stop near the Empress Hotel in downtown Victoria. Price for the tour is $21.50 (Canadian) per person which includes admission to the gardens. The tour runs Dec. 12-31, excluding Christmas Day.

Accommodations Off-season winter rates mean many bargains on hotels in Victoria. Call Tourism Victoria at (604) 953-2033 for information or (800) 663-3883 for reservations. For further information on the Butchart Gardens write: Box 4010, Victoria BC, Canada, V8X3X4 or call (604) 652-5256 for a recorded message or (604) 652-4422 for the business office.