Visiting Buchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia

Buchart Gardens
Buchart Gardens is by far my favorite thing we did on our trip to Victoria. I highly suggest getting there when they open. If you brought your car it’s about a thirty minute drive from downtown. If you’re planning on coming without a vehicle there are plenty of tours that will take you to the gardens. Plan for at least a half day if not majority of your day in the gardens.

The maps show you a specific direction to walk so that you don’t miss a section. At the entrance grab a photo in front of the “Buchart Gardens” sign (reference above). You’ll walk inside and see a sign that says “Start Here”. Basically, stay to the left.

In the summer, when we visited, the gardens open at 8:45 am. We arrived around 9:15 am and begun walking. If you want any chance of getting nice photos without thirty photo-bombers in the background, then get there early. Admission is a bit pricey but totally worth it. Rates change with the season so keep in mind summer is the most expensive. When we visited we paid $34 CAN per adult, $17 CAN for students 13-17, and $3 CAN for ages 5-12. Foreign military receives a 50% discount but this is for the active duty member only. They’ll give you a map when you arrive and there are plenty of maps posted throughout the gardens. Also, dogs are welcome!

This area with the hanging floral baskets is one of the first areas you’ll come to, its gorgeous! Keep left and you’ll walk into a woodland straight out of a children’s book. You can even find the three bears.

Through the forest you’ll come to an opening, this area is called the Sunken Garden. The entire premises use to be a cement quarry and this is where they had dug out all the materials.

There are a few ponds here, willow trees, and plenty of Lilly pads. It reminded me so much of Claude Monet’s Estate in Giverny, France.

Keep walking and you’ll come to the Ross Fountain. We spotted an otter hanging out nearby.

After this area we headed over to the carousel so Aurora could ride. This is a large green grassy area too where you can actually walk on the grass, unlike the rest of the gardens. Lots of people were having picnics and had brought blankets to play and lounge.

In the summer months they have fireworks on the weekends and this is the viewing area. We did not stay for them because we had come so early in the morning.

You’ll run into the totem poles and then the dragon fountain before you hit more gardens. The Rose Garden is next and boy are they beautiful.

There is every color rose that you can imagine. They’ve even got roses that are multi color.

There are benches, fountains, and plenty of archways in the Rose Garden.

We made reservations for Afternoon Tea online ahead of time, so we took a break and ate lunch at 11 am at The Dining Room. The Dining room has indoor and outdoor seating with a view of the Rose gardens. There are two restaurants on the grounds along with a Gelato stand and some food and snack stands.

I highly recommend the Afternoon Tea, it was delicious. It was $40 CAN per person. If everyone in your party doesn’t want that, they can order off the regular lunch menu.

Every single item was delicious and there were three tiers of it. Sandwiches, quiche, desserts, appetizer, tea, and of course a scone.

It is so worth the $40! We were so stuffed we weren’t hungry for dinner later.
For more info on The Dining Room restaurant, click here.

The Italian Garden is right outside The Dining Room and is where the Gelateria is located. Keep walking and you’ll pass the star pond into the Japanese Garden.

The Japanese Garden is a beauty in of itself. It feels like you’re walking into a lush forest filled with tiny stone houses and red archways.

You’ll find this great little peep hole down to the Harbor in the Japanese Gardens. Keep walking and you’ll come to the lookout area.

In the summer months they have boat tours through the inlet. We had a fun time! It’s a 45 minute tour and was $20 CAN per adult. You cannot make reservations ahead of time for this, you need to purchase tickets at the information desk when you arrive.