The Butchart gardens
C.P. BELLIAPPA
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To see the garden today one would never guess that it was once a limestone quarry.
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Canada, besides being blessed with the world's largest reserve of fresh water, is also endowed with some of the most picturesque parks, lakes, glaciers, gardens and sanctuaries. During our visit to the western parts of Canada, we visited some spectacularparks, gardens and glaciers. However, it was the man-made Butchart Gardens in Vancouver Island, which was the icing on the cake. In the early 1900s, an industrialist named Mr. Robert Pim Butchart established the Portland cement factory in Vancouver island, which had limestone deposits. By 1904, the limestone quarry next to his home was exhausted but there remained a large crater. Robert's wife Jennie decided to transform this ugly landscape.
Large quantities of fertile soil were carted to the site and Jennie created the spectacular sunken garden. By 1908, she designed and completed a Japanese garden. There is a clever bamboo contraption, which works on flowing water. It produces periodic clicking sound meant to keep vermin away.
By 1929, the Butcharts added an Italian garden and a Rose Garden. The entire area spans 55 acres. The best time to visit the Butchart Gardens is from March through October.
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