BUCHART GARDENS

                        An Old Quarry Turned Gorgeous

    Butchart Gardens, located pretty much half way between Victoria and Vancouver, BC are simply gorgeous and the grand daddy of gardens in an area full of gardens. One of the most beautiful gardens in North America, it is said to be the most photographed one. A strange thing happened when we visited the gardens my second (of 3) time. Everybody slowed down. People talked softly, waited patiently while people finished taking their photos, and slowed their pace. It was most refreshing.

        Located in an abandoned limestone quarry, the gardens cover 50 acres of the 130-acre estate. Tulips were in bloom everywhere---there were only 60,000 bulbs! Fifty gardeners are kept busy full time year-round in the gardens to ensure continuous color. Each morning before

the public is admitted, gardeners survey the gardens and dead head any plants that are beginning to fade.

       The rose garden has 2500 rose bushes of 250 varieties. It was a bit early for rose blooms, but the plants were all in bud. The gardens are beautiful any time of year as many plants are always in bloom.          Many people have wanted to buy the gardens, but it simply is not for sale and has been in the family for 100 years. Mrs. Butchart appreciated the money earned from the quarry and her husband’s cement business, but thought that the quarry was a blight on the landscape. People told her nothing would grow in the quarry, but did she prove them wrong!

       There are many benches around the gardens for one to sit and contemplate awhile. A restaurant and café are on the premises. A lovely gift shop occupies part of the original home.

      The gardens were left to a grandson who was quite literally married to the gardens. His wife lived in a home in town, but he stayed in a cabin in the gardens. They did put on a good public marriage. When he died, a brother took over the gardens, but he died three years later. However, he was the one who designed the fountain in the large pond. Now a sister runs the enterprise.

       The Butcharts started planting flowers, shrubs, and trees in 1904 from their extensive travels. The couple, always the gracious hosts, named their home Benvenuto, Italian meaning welcome.

       The 50 acres include a Rose Garden, Italian Garden, Japanese Garden, Stage Show Garden, and a Sunken Garden.  In 1953 lights were added to illuminate the gardens at night. At night, lights make the Ross Fountain a spectacular shimmering fantasy as its waters soar 80 feet into the air.  

        In the patio area near the gift shop stands a large 1620 bronze boar, named Tacca. He is a copy of an original that is in the Straw Market in Florence, Italy. The Butcharts purchased him on one of their European trips. The unique posture of Tacca suggests neither attack nor repose, but instead that he was awakened suddenly by the sound of the hunt. Years later a pond was added at the base with bronze plants, frogs, snakes, and turtles. His snout is finely burnished by thousands of visitors who have given him an affectionate rub for good luck. He is dedicated to all the children and animals who visit Butchart Gardens.

       My last visit to the Butchart was an evening one. It was a bit of a disappointment after having seen the gardens twice before in the daytime. The paths were not well lit which made one walk carefully and the gardens lost a lot of their color and beauty. It also was harder to comprehend the whole layout of the area. If it had been my first visit I may have been enthralled, but in my opinion, daytime is a much better time for viewing.

VICTORIA'S PARLIMENT BUILDING AND STORY POLES

                        Parliament,a Magnificent Building

    The parliament building in Victoria has an interesting history. We toured with a docent. The rotunda has a lovely mosaic floor and the murals, painted in the 1930s, depict the area’s history.        Only 25 years old, Francis Rattenbury,  won the architectural contest over 67 architects. . He signed his drawings B C Architect, so the committee thought he was a local boy. From Yorkshire, England, he showed other works that had been completed before he was born! Later he designed over 100 buildings in British Columbia including the Empress hotel.

     The building cost $920,000, including the overruns. However, between 1972-84, the renovation cost a hundred million dollars. At night 3333 lights illuminate the building. The lights went up in 1897 and it was not until 1976 that they were replaced.

     The original stain glass window, showing the coat of arms, was made in Yorkshire, England and shipped in molasses. It was removed in 1911 to make an entryway into the new library wing of the building. The window was lost in the basement for 62 years until it was found in 1974. Now it is installed in the foyer.

      The coat of arms displays the flag while a lion lies on top of the crown. Sixteen years ago a dogwood collar, the provincial flower, was added to the lion. Originally the sun was under the flag which was interpreted as the Empire was fading. It was changed so the sun is now on top of the flag. The brass helmet was added to the corner of the flag 16 years ago.

     The blue represents the ocean, and the white represents the snow on the mountains. The red in the flag represents the patriots. The splendor sine occasu translates: beauty without ceasing.

     The sides of the U shaped legislature table are exactly 2 ½ sword lengths apart, allowing for a ½ sword length if both sides should take up arms. The legislature is never in session without the mace, a medieval spiked club, being in place. Bigger than a gavel, it is strictly ceremonial, but a custom still in use.

     Jade is the Provincial stone. Queen Victoria named Victoria in 1858.

     The second floor of the rotunda is a memorial to past legislators. Italian craftsmen laid the mosaic floor using one- inch square stones.

     Rattenbury, the designer, met a tragic end. He was bludgeoned to death in England by his second wife and her young chauffeur/lover. A big trial took place at the Old Bailey. She was acquitted, but three days later she committed suicide by walking into a river and stabbing herself six times.

    The chauffeur was sentenced to death, but later his sentence was commuted to life in prison. However, he was released to fight in WW II. He survived the war and lived in isolation in England.

STORY POLES

            Spanish explorers thought North American Indians in Canada worshiped their story poles, so they called them totems, which in Spanish means idol.  Of course none of that was true. The totems tell a story and often record family history, so today story poles is the correct terminology.

            In Canada the term First Nation’s People has replaced the use of Indian, aborigines, and indigenous, all words used in the past to describe the nation’s first inhabitants.

            Story poles are more common in some places than others, as the custom of carving was more common among certain tribes or bands of people. The giant red cedar tree is the tree commonly used for carving a story pole, so proximity to them was a large factor influencing the craft. The tree with the stringy bark can grow 200-feet tall.

            Story poles depict the relationship between man, animals, celestial bodies, plants and landscapes and how they can intermingle and change. A person, clan, band, or tribe differs from another the same way as a dog differs from a cat.

To say “I am a Raven” means I am from the Raven clan/band. The Raven ranks high on the story pole as he oversees man and the creatures below. He is also the guardian of the carver, its strong beak is feared both by man and other creatures.

The Eagle is the symbol of the Haida tribe, and his flight honors the past while soaring into the future. He is the strongest of all creatures because he has the largest wings, sharpest eyes, controls the sky, can cause storms, lightning and thunder. Sometimes he is called the thunderbird.

VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

                                  A Charming City

    Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, across the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Washington’s snow capped Olympic Peninsula. This island city is a romantic, quaint seaport. Victoria enjoys mild Mediterranean weather with low humidity and off shore breezes, and gets 20-25 inches of rain a year, about a third of Vancouver’s rainfall.

The city, named for a queen, is known as the City of Gardens, and beautiful gardens bloom year round. Elaborate rose gardens flourish in the mild climate. Down town, baskets of flowers hang from the 19^th century lampposts in summer, sprouting about mid-May. They add beauty and atmosphere to the waterfront of the already charming city.

In 1843 Victoria was settled as a political choice to secure an English border with the US. Actually Victoria sits below the American-Canadian border.  The city flourished when gold was discovered in 1858.  Gold seeking miners outfitted at Fort Victoria in the mid 1850s. During the gold rush there were 57 offenses that demanded hanging. It was a booming colonial city in the late 19^th century---until Vancouver was established in 1880s. James Douglas became the first Governor. He gave the city 150 acres of land which now is Beacon Hill Park. Established as a Hudson Bay Company Fort the city is a mix of old England with a proud history and British customs.

The first commercial brewery in Western Canada was established in the 1850s and was in operation before the first lighthouse. There are many vineyards on Vancouver Island making for a burgeoning wine industry.

  Today horse drawn carriages trot past stately legislative buildings.  Historic Fort Street is known as antique row in this modern metropolitan city.  London-style double-decker buses transit the city on a regular basis. Pedicabs and ferries are also available. Local transportation is frequent, reliable and easy to follow, and walking the compact city is easy as well. Float planes take off every 2-3 minutes making for a busy harbor.  This wonderfully preserved frontier town sits in a beautiful scenic seaside locale. Victoria is the island’s largest city as well as the Provincial capital. The rest of Vancouver Island is rural to wild.

The Gorge is a long body of water, a tidal basin, that at the turn of the century was the playground for well-to-do Victorians. Many lovely old Victorian homes were in the area. Unfortunately only a couple remain. 

Lt. Governor’s house has 35 acres of gardens! Budget cuts years ago transferred all the gardeners from the house. After twelve years of neglect the gardens were in a sad state of disrepair. In 1990 a large group of volunteer gardeners was organized who now care for the gardens that are again lovely. Several volunteer gardeners were working the morning we visited and I had a chance to talk to a couple of them. The city parks have unionized gardeners and do not encourage any volunteering----what a shame!

The University of Victoria’s gardens were exquisite! Azaleas and rhododendrons were in full bloom, in every color. Some of the rhododendron blossoms were the size of a large dinner plate, and standing six feet tall they were a magnificent sight!

It seemed every home in the city had a flowering garden of some size and they obviously take great pride in their landscapes

Oak Bay, which is one of Victoria’s most British-looking villages/ neighborhoods. Many of the homes were built from stone used as ships’ ballast. Much of the iron trim was also used as ballast. Many old stone walls are still standing and were lovely. We wandered around a bit in some of the shops, and the last evening we had dinner at the Blithering Pub in Oak Bay. In one area of town each street is lined with a different kind of tree. Most neighborhoods in Victoria have lovely old trees. Each little village has its own small grocery store and local pub, both of which are part of the village charm.

Craigdarock Castle

Early railroad and coal barons built many luxurious castles in Victoria. Robert Dunsmuir emigrated from Scotland and became an empire building coal baron. He built Craigdarock
Castle, a lavishly furnished 39-room castle in 1887.  The stained glass windows in the castle were exquisite. The ornately carved woodwork was beautiful as were the fireplaces, pink granite columns, stone turrets and the parquet floors, with a different design each room.

We climbed the 87 steps to the top of the tower, which rewarded us a good view of the city below. We stopped on each floor to view various rooms. We descended down stairs that led through the servants’ quarters.

The original estate extended to the water covering 28 acres. Mr. Dunsmuir died months before the majestic castle was completed, but his wife and children moved into the castle and lived there until his wife, Joan, died in 1908. At that time the castle was a white elephant that no one wanted. Eventually the acreage of the castle was subdivided into 120 lots and sold.  

 Over the years the castle has been used as a military hospital, housed Victoria College, the School Board offices, a conservatory of music, and finally today is an historic house museum.

Victoria is a charming city with a lot of history and much to see and do.

Visit post 8-8-12 to read all about the fantastic Parliament bldg

            Post    10/27 /13 for a look at the Empress hotel and hi tea there.

           

BRASS FIGURES TO PET SHINY

                       Good Luck Brass Figures

The first brass figure I came across 25 plus years ago was Tacca on my first trip to Victoria, BC. He sat in the patio area near the gift shop at Buchart Gardens. A large 1620 bronze boar, he is a copy of an original that was in the Straw Market in Florence, Italy. The Bucharts purchased him on one of their European trips.

The unique posture of Tacca suggests neither attack nor repose, but instead that he was awakened suddenly by the sound of the hunt. Years later a pond was added at the base with bronze frogs, snakes, and turtles among the plants. His snout is finely burnished by hundreds of visitors who have given him an affectionate rub for good luck. He is dedicated to all the children and animals who visit Buchart Gardens. I gave him a pat years later but  my last visit to the gardens was at night and I somehow missed him.

The statue of a little dog is one of the most photographed statues in Edinburgh, Scotland. The little Skye Terrier was the dog of an Edinburgh policeman known as a bobby. For five years he accompanied his master on his rounds all over the city. Then the policeman died. The gates to the cemetery proclaimed NO DOGS, and the gates were shut the day of the funeral before the little dog could get through them.

Each day after the one o’clock cannon firing at the fort above the Royal Mile the little dog walked to the coffeehouse his master often frequented. He was given a few scraps to eat, then he’d return to the cemetery to guard his master’s grave. After the first day when the cemetery caretaker found him and realized the dog was Greyfriars Bobby he ignored the no dogs rule. Every day for ten years the little dog would repeat his routine. Often on very cold winter nights a caring person would give him shelter in their home. When the little dog died, an exception was made to allow him to be buried beside his master. The little brass replica on a post on the Royal Mile is a favorite photo op.

At one end of the small park in Kiev, Ukraine stands a bronze statue of a little cat whose ears and

tail are shinny from the many rubbings they have received---a sign of good luck. Years ago the little cat smelled smoke and scratched the security people to warn its owners of a fire in time for all of them to make it to safety. But in all the confusion the little cat was forgotten and died of smoke inhalation.

 

In Havana, Cuba there is a life-size bronze statue of a French gentleman standing on the sidewalk outside Basilica Manor.

To touch either his beard or hand is supposed to bring good luck. Both were shiny from much rubbing.

I’ve seen many many statues in my travels, but these are the good-luck charmers of which I have fond memories.

HIGH TEAS

                          The Empress Hotel  High Tea and Alternative

In 1908 the   chateau- style Empress Hotel was built by the Canadian and Pacific Railroad as

the most western hotel in its chain across Canada. Overlooking the harbor, it has become a symbol of Victoria and now is a National Historical Landmark of Canada.

In 1965 there was much debate about tearing down what had become a faded, dowdy hotel to make room for a more modern high-rise hotel. But because of civic concern the hotel underwent a renovation in 1965. In 1999, Canadian Pacific spun off its Canadian Pacific Hotels to the Fairmont Hotel chain.

The Empress now has three sittings for tea each afternoon. I was disappointed to see that tea is now served in the hotel lobby, often with a line of people waiting to get in. That couldn’t hold a candle to the wonderful high-tea I had in 1989 in the hotel’s Crystal Ballroom. The tux-clad waiters were attentive as they served us tiny finger sandwiches, scones with jelly and clotted crème with our tea.

Although not enthusiastic about either the setting or $60 fee I did tell my travelling buddy I was willing, but the call was hers. We decided to enjoy tea at the Point Ellice House and that was an excellent choice.

Since the Point Ellice House was on the Gorge it was a pleasant walk from our hotel. Another couple joined us. Tea was served in the old carriage house, which was built in the same spot where the burned barn had stood. We were at our table with linen tablecloth/napkins for nearly two hours. Besides finger sandwiches we also were served sweets, scones and all the tea we wanted to drink. We ate the scones in the proper manner as described in the Point Ellice brochure.

This tearoom also served as a small gift shop with some lovely things for sale. It was nice to see the absence of all the tourist junk.

Our server told us, “During the 19^th century this was an area full of lovely Victorian homes where the gentry and well to do people lived. This Italianate cottage was built in 1861, and was enlarged and landscaped between 1875-89. The O’Reillys, with four children, moved into the house in 1867. Peter O’Reilly was Irish and lived from 1828 to 1905.

“The O’Reilly family occupied the home for 106 years. Mr. O’Reilly was a government official. The family never threw anything away. They kept extensive records even including workmen who arrived to do various chores. There are over 10,000 Victorian objects in the home. The property extends several hundred feet along the Gorge.”

Mrs. O’Reilly apparently wrote a cookbook where there were three recipes for lemon curd or lemon cheesecake. Except for hot cocoa and candy or bon bons, chocolate did not exist in Victorian cooking. There was no such thing as brownies, chocolate chip cookies, or chocolate cake.

One daughter, Kathleen, was quite an accomplished artist and several of her paintings are on view in the house. She never married, as she found life at Ellice house too comfortable and happy.  She remained in the house until her death in 1945. After that the house passed to a nephew. In 1975 the Provincial Government bought the property.

After tea we toured the house. We each were given headphones, that worked wonderfully well, and a cassette recorder. The Chinese houseboy told the story of the house. Periodically he was interrupted by the English parlor maid with some tid bit of information. Occasionally an excerpt from a diary was read. It was a very creative, imaginative way to tell the story.

It was a delightful way to spend the afternoon and to end our visit to Victoria.