Government House Gardens, Victoria, BC

Oops! Forgot to add the write-up of the Government House Gardens!

The Government House Gardens, were just minutes from where we were staying in Victoria. While we thoroughly enjoyed the Butchart Gardens, we were amazed at the GHG! There were only about 15-20 people milling about the gardens, so we were able to enjoy the gardens at a leisurely, relaxed pace.

Enjoy!

Gardens of Victoria and Vancouver Island

Two major highlights of our trip out west were to the famous Butchart Gardens, a short drive from Victoria, and the Government House Gardens, just minutes from where we were staying in Victoria. The gardens offered a wide variety of views and perspectives for differing tastes and interests; from rock and cliff gardens, shade and wet gardens, to Japanese, Italian, and other formal designs.

Top three pics are in the Japanese Garden at BG

ETA: I just received an e-mail from Graham Bell, the Advertising & Promotions coordinator at BG, who pointed out a couple of errors pertaining to driving distance and costs, along with some suggestions for enjoying the gardens at less visited times (such as first thing in the morning, or early afternoon).

Wow, I had just barely posted this entry! The miracles of modern technology. I thank him for his astuteness, as I certainly wouldn't want to post inaccurate information. The paragraph above has been edited to delete the inaccurate information...

Pics at right are in the formal garden and Italian Garden

I'm going to have to cull about 400 pics to 8 or 9, so if you would like more, just e-mail me and I'll send you a batch!

Next four pics are in the sunken garden.

There were also lots of annuals just planted--geraniums and many other flowers. They are probably just blooming now! I can just imagine beds of color, streaming around the bottom of groups of trees, bushes, and perennials.

Sigh, only about 1/2 of the stuff we saw are able to safely grow in our planting zone...but, hey, with global warming, in perhaps another ten years I can plant some of them! lol. (not really lol.)

This was just stunning. The flowers were gorgeous, and one thing I really appreciated are the layers of color and texture of the evergreens, interspersed with deciduous trees and bushes. Seriously, I have oddles and oddles of fabulous pics. If you want more...

And, the trip continues...plus sock update

I decided to continue my quest to finish unfinished objects/projects, and instead of starting the Rose of England again (which I shredded last night), I picked up the second Jewelled Steps sock. I started the expansion arch last night, and finished it plus started the heel. I love, love, love knitting socks with the two circs! No more DPNs! (double pointed needles for non knitters...)

Note: click on pics for larger view...

If you remember, our trip left us in Port Angeles, Washington. It's now Friday morning (June 20th) and we have ferry reservations to Victoria, BC. Above is a pic of the mountains as we are leaving the port. That's Washington, US.

We were eagerly anticipating the Victoria harbour, which had been much ballyhooed. However, neither one of us were thrilled. It was overbuilt with hotels and condos, and took away from the dramatic presence of the Empress Hotel and other old buildings. But, it was still kind of cool to ferry on in, waving at people in smaller boats and such. Not being a sailor, I guess that's the sea-farin' protocol!

Jeff successfully negotiated driving our rental car out of the ship's hull, and we took off for our B&B, Trutch Manor.

I was pretty tired, and my general rule of thumb is to find the hotel/B&B, make a pot of tea and put my feet up. We were only blocks away from the B&B, and I called them to let them know we had arrived.

Here's some pics of the B&B, with the welcome committee of the neighbor's cat and a stray! Cute. We stayed in The Parlour. For better pics and a panoramic view, click on the link...

One thing we both enjoyed about Victoria was the flowers and gardens. So many of the homes were surrounded by flowers: plantings, on the lawn, in buckets, arbors, arches, etc. And lots of flowers were in bloom. We are in zone 3b in Jericho, Vermont, and it fluctuates from 3a-4a depending on the year. I think Victoria is like zone 7! It's not how hot it gets, rather the minimum average low. Sigh.

Many, many pics of the flowers, building, and gardens to appear shortly! Stay tuned...