Sunken Garden
In the old quarry.
Mwoodbc — CC BY-SA 3.0 · In twilight — CC BY-SA 3.0 · TravelingOtter from Houston, Texas, USA — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Gabriele Giuseppini — CC BY 3.0
Among the world's best-known flower gardens, spread over some twenty-two hectares on Vancouver Island north of Victoria, begun in 1904 when Jennie Butchart decided to turn the exhausted limestone quarry of her husband's cement works into a stunning sunken garden. The Sunken Garden, on the floor of the old quarry, is its most famous part, with paths sloping down between colourful flowerbeds and clipped trees to a small lake and fountain, ringed by ivy-covered quarry walls. It is now a National Historic Site. There is a tranquil Japanese Garden with red bridges, a formal Italian Garden, a Rose Garden that blooms in summer and the dancing Ross Fountain. The flowers change with the seasons, from spring tulips to Christmas lights in winter, with fireworks on summer Saturday evenings. The ticket changes by season, about C$44.25 per adult in summer and C$36.75 in October including tax, per the official site. Visitors reach it by public bus or tour from downtown Victoria in about half an hour.
In the old quarry.
Red bridges.
At Christmas.
800 Benvenuto Avenue, Brentwood Bay, about 21 km north of Victoria
About 21 kilometres north, roughly half an hour by bus or car.