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It’s dubbed the “City of Gardens.” And for good reason. Victoria (the capital of British Columbia, or BC, in Canada) literally blooms with colorful flowers and show-stopping gardens!
Indeed, the gardens in Victoria, BC, are a big draw for visitors and one of Victoria’s top tourist attractions.
Even in bleak November, hanging baskets of yellow and purple pansies brighten doorways of downtown shops near the city’s picturesque Inner Harbor.
We know – we live here in beautiful Victoria, and we’ve seen the flower baskets blooming as winter approaches!
Then come February, with most of Canada still blanketed by snow, Victorians celebrate the city’s annual Flower Count.
For one week, they count all the crocuses, daffodils and pink cherry blossoms flowering in the sunshine – an astounding 44,588,324,077 blooms in 2019. (Can you think of a more fun thing to do than count flowers?)
Best Victoria, BC, gardens
While there are many Victoria, BC, gardens to visit, the following five are the most popular. (They’re our favorites too).
Is it hot outside? Cool off at these best beaches in Victoria – read next!
1) Butchart Gardens
In the early 1900s, Jenny Butchart wanted to beautify the limestone quarry her husband Robert had mined.
With topsoil transported by horse and cart to the abandoned pit, she set about creating the “sunken garden.” She had flowering trees planted and tucked ivy into the sides of the quarry walls. Additional rose, Italian and Japanese gardens were added later.
Jennie’s vision turned into the Butchart Gardens.
Today, the world-renowned gardens wow over 1 million visitors a year.
They’re the largest, most well-known and best gardens in Victoria.
We particularly love the magnificent displays of annual flowers, curving manicured lawns, weeping willows and small lake with the 70-foot dancing Ross Fountain.
The Rose Garden – home to some 2,5000 rose bushes – is wonderful too. The World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) recently honored it with an Award of Excellence.
If you visit in summer, don’t miss the spectacular Saturday evening fireworks (pioneered by Jennie Butchart’s great-grandson), which are choreographed to music.
Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC
Visiting from Vancouver? This best-selling tour of the gardens includes the ferry ride from your Vancouver hotel.
For more information, see the Butchart Gardens website.
2) Beacon Hill Park
Stroll through Beacon Hill Park in downtown Victoria, and you see spandex-clad joggers pounding the trails, moms pushing baby strollers and grey-haired gents chatting on park benches.
Shaded by maple, arbutus and soaring Douglas firs, the 200-acre landscaped park is interlaced with moss-covered bridges, lakes, rock gardens, lily ponds and meandering paths.
Peacocks and ducks roam about freely.
On one visit, we spied a huge bald eagle on top of the totem pole (the world’s largest) which towers 125 feet high in the park.
The south end of this Victoria, BC, park offers sweeping water views of Juan de Fuca Strait.
Beacon Hill Park, Victoria
For more information, see the park’s website.
3) Abkhazi Garden
This is the “garden that love built.”
And Abkhazi Garden is the teeniest of the five Victoria gardens covered here.
The small (one-acre) but oh-so-pretty West Coast garden was created by Peggy and her husband, Prince Nicholas Abkhazi, who settled in Victoria after reuniting post-World War II.
Tucked away in a residential neighbourhood, Abkhazi Garden is very natural in design, playing up the shapes of the rocks, trees, bushes and alpine plants showcased.
There are magnificent oak trees, huge 50-year old rhododendrons with gracefully sculpted branching trunks, Japanese maples and duck ponds.
Nicolas especially liked waterfall effects.
So rock-hugging firs cascade down boulders in front of their former home, now a delightful tea house.
Abkhazi Garden, Victoria
Reservations are recommended for The Teahouse at Abkhazi Garden. See the teahouse website.
For more information on the garden, see the garden’s website.
4) Government House
Open to the public, the Victoria gardens surrounding the official residence of British Columbia’s lieutenant governor include cut flower gardens, beautiful rose gardens, orchard and native plant sections, and more…
Discover shade-loving hostas, perky geraniums, a Garry oak woodland and apple, plum and quince trees.
Also enjoy the small waterfall and duck pond.
Victoria, BC, Government House Gardens
These gardens are free.
For more information, see the Government House gardens’ website.
5) Hatley Park National Historic Site
Grand in scale, this Edwardian estate once belonged to coal baron James Dunsmuir, a former premier of British Columbia.
He and his family lived in the lavish 40-room “castle” built in 1908.
White orchids imported from India graced the conservatory, and 120 gardeners and groundskeepers tended the formal gardens.
Today, Hatley Castle is part of the Hatley Park National Historic Site.
In summer, you can tour the rosewood-paneled rooms inside the stone mansion, now the administrative center for Royal Roads University.
Also be sure to smell the candy-colored roses in the walled rose garden, admire the boxwood-hedged Italian garden and explore the Japanese garden with its pond, well and stone lanterns.
Hatley Castle, Victoria
Guides walking estate tours are offered from mid-April to early September.
For more information, see the Hatley Castle gardens webpage.
Best time to visit these 5 Victoria, Canada, gardens?
In spring, bountiful rhodos and azaleas paint the city with huge splashes of hot pink. It’s probably the most beautiful time of the year in the garden city of Victoria.
But anytime from March to fall is a great time to visit the city and its gardens.
Victoria, the “City of Gardens”
People love to garden in Victoria!
Walk any of the neighborhoods in the city, and you’ll see that even the simplest of homes proudly boast colorful flower beds and pots.
Interestingly, the gardens are a little more untamed than the more manicured gardens we’ve seen elsewhere. They’re wilder, and some overflow with plants and bushes. A few weeds? They’re allowed to grow. The lawns too are thicker and longer – not mowed as tightly. Dandelions pop up here and there. Victorians are staunch environmentalists, so this probably accounts for why their gardens look more natural.
Of course, the drier island climate has fostered a different ecosystem, creating one of the last refuges for Victoria’s beloved Garry Oaks – we have lots in our own back garden.
Have you visited the tropical botanical gardens in Kauai? You must!
Where to stay in Victoria? We love these Airbnbs and hotels
Getting to Victoria from Vancouver
- It’s a scenic 100-minute sail on BC Ferries from West Vancouver’s Horseshoe Bay terminal to Nanaimo, then a two-hour drive south on Vancouver Island to Victoria.
- Or you can take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, which is 20 minutes from Victoria.
- For more information, see the BC Ferries’ website.
More BC travel inspiration
Read these posts of ours!
Photos 1 and 4 Butchart Gardens | Remaining photos courtesy the respective Victoria, BC, gardens, except where noted
Hi Janice, first, great topic and wonderful pictures. I have been to the Butchart Gardens and It was wonderful. Unfortunately, We couldn’t see the rest of it. We probably will do that next time.
Well, you saw the most famous gardens :-). And now you’ve got something to look forward to for your next visit to Victoria…
Gardens with ponds are the most precious exposure of beauty and I love them.
Nice photos.
We were just in Victoria a few weeks ago and somehow missed Hatley Castle. It looks so neat, I’m disappointed we weren’t able to see it! Next time we visit that will definitely be on our list. I’ve read lots of great things about both Abigail’s House and Magnolia Hotel. In fact, we almost stayed at Abigail’s this last time but in the end opted for the more iconic Fairmont Empress in conjunction with their Afternoon Tea. My husband and I are planning a trip back to Victoria this Summer and will be staying either at Abigail’s or Magnolia – it’s a tough choice! Great article, thanks!
Hatley Castle is easy to miss because you have to drive out of Victoria a bit (and it’s not as well-known as the Butchart Gardens). We wouldn’t have known about it either if we didn’t have the assignment to write the gardens article for Taste of Life magazine. You’ll be happy at either Abigail’s or Magnolia – and summer will be a great time to visit Victoria!
Abkhazi Garden looks wonderful, we have a Japanese garden in London – the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park, it’s one of my favourites!
Beautiful photos…
Looks like Spring is the perfect time to visit Victoria!