Butchart Gardens
Encyclopedia
Brentwood Bay, British Columbia
Brentwood Bay, is a small neighbourhood in the municipality of Central Saanich, on the Saanich Peninsula. It lies north of the city of Victoria and south of Sidney on the southern tip of Vancouver Island. Situated on the Saanich Inlet, it includes the Butchart Gardens, the Victoria Butterfly...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, located near Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. The gardens receive more than a million visitors each year. The gardens have been designated a National Historic Site of Canada due to their international renown.
History
Robert Pim Butchart (1856–1943) began manufacturing Portland cementPortland cement
Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world because it is a basic ingredient of concrete, mortar, stucco and most non-specialty grout...
in 1888 near his birthplace of Owen Sound, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
He and his wife Jennie Butchart (1866–1950) came to the west coast of Canada because of rich limestone deposits necessary for cement production.
at the base of the Saanich Peninsula
Saanich Peninsula
The Saanich Peninsula is located north of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. It is bounded by the Saanich Inlet on the west, and various straits of the Gulf of Georgia on the east, chiefly Haro Strait The exact southern boundary of what is referred to as the "Saanich Peninsula" is somewhat fluid...
on Vancouver Island.
In 1907, 65 year old garden designer Isaburo Kishida of Yokohama came to Victoria, at the request of his son, to build a tea garden for Esquimalt Gorge Park. This garden was wildly popular and a place to be seen. Several prominent citizens, Jennie Butchart among them, commissioned Japanese gardens from Kishida for their estates. He returned to Japan in 1912.
In 1909, when the limestone quarry was exhausted, Jennie set about turning it into the Sunken Garden, which was completed in 1921. They named their home "Benvenuto" ("welcome" in Italian), and began to receive visitors to their gardens. In 1926, they replaced their tennis courts with an Italian garden and in 1929 they replaced their kitchen vegetable garden with a large rose garden to the design of Butler Sturtevant
Butler Sturtevant
Butler Stevens Sturtevant was an American landscape architect.-Early years:Butler Stevens Sturtevant, a ninth-generation Mayflower1 descendant was born on September 1, 1899, in Delavan, Wisconsin2 to James Brown and Ada Belle Sturtevant...
of Seattle. Samuel Maclure
Samuel Maclure
Samuel Maclure was a Canadian architect in British Columbia, Canada from 1890 to 1920. He was born in Sapperton, New Westminster, British Columbia on 11 April 1860. He studied painting at the Spring Garden Institute, Philadelphia, PA from 1884-5. He was a self-taught architect...
, who was consultant to the Butchart Gardens, reflected the aesthetic of the English Arts and Crafts Movement
Arts and Crafts movement
Arts and Crafts was an international design philosophy that originated in England and flourished between 1860 and 1910 , continuing its influence until the 1930s...
.
In 1939, the Butcharts gave the Gardens to their grandson Ian Ross (1918–1997) on his 21st birthday. Ross was involved in the operation and promotion of the gardens until his death 58 years later.
In 1953, miles of underground wiring was laid to provide night illumination, to mark the 50th anniversary of The Gardens. In 1964, the ever-changing Ross Fountain was installed in the lower reservoir to celebrate the 60th anniversary. In 1994, the Canadian Heraldic Authority granted a coat of arms to the Butchart Gardens. In 2004, two 30 feet (9.1 m) totem poles were installed to mark the 100th anniversary, and The Gardens were designated as a national historic site.
Ownership of The Gardens remains within the Butchart family; the owner and managing director since 2001 is the Butcharts' great-granddaughter Robin-Lee Clarke.
Canada (Epcot)
The Canada Pavilion is part of World Showcase within Epcot at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.-Layout:The Canada Pavilion is designed to remind guests of the Canadian outdoors. It includes a canyon, a waterfall, gardens, a pool with fountains, and totem poles. The main attraction is O...
pavilion opened at Epcot
Epcot
Epcot is a theme park in the Walt Disney World Resort, located near Orlando, Florida. The park is dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, namely international culture and technological innovation. The second park built at the resort, it opened on October 1, 1982 and was initially named...
Centre in Orlando Florida.
In December, 2009 the Children's Pavilion and the Rose Carousel were opened. The menagerie includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras and mirrors the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors. The designs were hand picked by the owner, in consultation with an artist from North Carolina. The carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. Each animal is carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate disabled persons.
Birds
While Mrs. Butchart collected plants, Mr. Butchart collected ornamental birds from all over the world, having a parrot in the house, ducks in the Star Pond and peacocks on the front lawn. He built several elaborate birdhouses for the gardens and trained pigeons on the site of the present-day Begonia Bower.Statuary
Several bronze statues are displayed in the gardens.One, of a wild boar
Porcellino
Il Porcellino is the local Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of a boar.Originally intended for the Boboli Garden, then moved in the Mercato Nuovo in Florence, Italy. the fountain was placed originally facing east, in via Calimala, in front of the Farmacia del Cinghiale, which is the...
, purchased on a Mediterranean trip in 1973, was cast in Florence,
a replica of a 1620 bronze cast by Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca
Pietro Tacca was an Italian sculptor, who was the chief pupil and follower of Giambologna. Tacca began in a Mannerist style and worked in the Baroque style during his maturity.-Biography:...
. It is called "Tacca" in honor of the sculptor and, just as the original's,
its snout is shiny from the many visitors rubbing it for luck.
Another, nearby in front of the residence, of a donkey and foal is by Sirio Tofanari.
A fountain statue of three sturgeon, also by Tofanari, is installed near the Japanese garden.
In 1993, "Circle of Doves", which Ann-Lee Ross gave her husband Ian in 1991 to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary, was installed in front of the begonia bower.
In the summer of 2008, The Gardens introduced the Jennie B, an electrically driven 12-passenger boat, which plys the local coastlines in the summer giving visitors an appreciation of the waterside history plus coastal aquatic plants and animals.
On December 1st, 2009 the Children's Pavilion and Rose Carousel were opened to the public. The Rose Carousel, crafted by Brass Ring Entertainment of Sun Valley, California is the only carousel on Vancouver Island. The menagerie includes thirty animals ranging from bears, to horses, to ostriches, to zebras, to cats and mirrors the world from which The Gardens draws its visitors. The designs were hand picked by Robin Clarke, The Gardens' owner and great grand daughter of Jennie Butchart, in consultation with an artist from North Carolina. The carvings were done by some of the few remaining carvers of carousel art. Each animal is carved from basswood and took many months to complete. There are also two chariots able to accommodate disabled persons.
The Rose Carousel is housed within the 700 sq m (7,534 sq ft) Children’s Pavilion, which has a dome with a 23m (75 ft) clear span, a full-fronted glass façade and a roof planted with native plant species. The pavilion also has an event room for such things as children’s birthday parties.