Butchart's Sunken Garden

Trust me.  These photos are real.  To say the Butchart Sunken Gardens are jaw-droppingly beautiful is a cliche, I know, but . . . oh my, they REALLY ARE jaw-droppingly beautiful!  It took my travel buddy a few minutes to compose himself.  "I had no idea," he kept saying over and over.  As for me, I walked around with a stupid grin on my face for the next few hours.

It's inconceivable this distinct garden used to be a limestone quarry.  It began to take shape way back in 1904 when Jennie Butchart and her husband had a vision.  A lot of talented gardeners and a lot of backbreaking labor transformed this blah strip of landscape north of Victoria into the paradise it is today.

 Besides the breathtaking vista from the top of the path, this garden is known for its seasonal swaths of color.  Being Autumn, the canvas was painted with masses of yellow, orange and red chrysanthemums.  This is the genius of Butchart Gardens.  It is spectacular no matter what season it may be.

The gardeners were busy planting tulip bulbs.  Spring, of course, must be explosive, but the fall colors were so pleasing to the eye, I was thrilled to be here this time of year.