A beautiful bouquet of Greater Victoria gardens

While Victoria is appropriately known as the Garden City, gardeners will find a lot to love throughout the region!

Part of the 12 Days of Christmas display at the Butchart Gardens. Jen Blyth photo

Best known of all British Columbia gardens is the world-famous Butchart Gardens. Still in the Butchart family after its founding more than a century ago, the 55-acre garden and National Historic Site is open daily with its ever-changing, year-round spectacle of blooms and floral displays. Spring is the season of cherry blossoms and a stunning display of more than 300,000 bulbs, while summer brings a riot of colourful blooms.

Autumn is beautiful with the changing of the colours — especially in the Japanese Garden, the first in North America, created by Jennie Butchart and Isaburo Kishida. Come winter, it’s the Magic of Christmas, Dec. 1 to Jan. 6, a magical display of holiday lights and decorations, complete with festive entertainment and the Twelve Days of Christmas displays tucked about the grounds.

The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific. Jen Blyth photo

Saanich’s “Garden for Gardeners,” the grounds at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific feature nine acres of spectacular gardens showcasing more than 10,000 varieties of plants. Highlights include the Bonsai Garden — Canada’s second-largest, with more than 60 bonsai trees on display — the Takata Japanese and Zen Garden, and the Rhododendron and Hosta Garden.

In Fairfield, Abkhazi Garden — “the garden that love built” — showcases the local landscape beautifully. Designed by the Prince and Princess Abkhazi following the Second World War, the garden features beds of Japanese maples, numerous bulbs and rhododendrons against a backdrop of towering Garry oaks. Enjoy afternoon tea overlooking the gardens.

In the nearby Rockland neighbourhood, the Government House Gardens boast a stunning series of gardens around the home of B.C.’s Lieutenant Governor. Stroll the Victorian Rose Garden, enjoy city views from the Terrace Gardens, stop by the duck pond and take in the spring-blooming rhododendrons. The grounds are open daily and admission is free to the 36 acres of manicured gardens, native woodlands and heritage buildings.

The University of Victoria is home to Finnerty Gardens, a 6.5-acre urban woodland oasis featuring a spectacular collection of more than 200 rhododendron species and azaleas. Admission is free, and the gardens, located at the southwest corner of the campus, are open year-round.

And in the West Shore, Hatley Park, home to Royal Roads University, boasts beautiful Japanese, Italian and rose gardens surrounding Hatley Castle, once home to the Dunsmuir family, who also built Victoria’s Craigdarroch Castle. You’ll also find many heritage trees significant for their size, rarity and diversity, and trails exploring the Colwood property.