Butchart Gardens
In French: The Butchart Gardens
Also known as Butchart's Gardens
800 Benvenuto Drive, Central Saanich
Butchart Gardens, 1923 and today
Drag across to compare. The two views aren’t taken from exactly the same spot.
1923: Photo: Johnston, Frances Benjamin, 1864-1952, photographer · Public domain. Today: Photo: Marcus · CC BY-SA 1.0.
About Butchart Gardens
Canada counts Butchart Gardens as Central Saanich’s National Historic Site. The register gives 1904–1940 for Butchart Gardens. The register names Isaburo Kishida, Butler Sturtevant and Rasul Robillard as its architects.
Butchart Gardens National Historic Site of Canada is an internationally-known public attraction that has been open to visitors since 1904. It is located on the Saanich Peninsula, approximately 21 kilometres north of Victoria, British Columbia. The gardens occupy the site of a former quarry and borders on Tod Inlet. The designated area of the gardens occupies approximately 5.26 hectares and corresponds to the areas developed under the guidance of Jennie Butchart between 1904 and 1939. The gardens provide dramatic floral displays in a variety of garden settings and styles set against a backdrop of mature trees and shrubs and linked together by a network of paths and transition areas. Throughout the garden are viewpoints offering glimpses of Tod Inlet and the hills beyond. Official recognition generally corresponds with the historic gardens laid out by Mrs.
From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, Butchart Gardens National Historic Site of Canada · Open Government Licence – Canada · in the register’s words, not edited
National Historic Site status comes on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
3 old views of Butchart Gardens
Made before 1950, from 1923: public domain or CC0. Tap one to see it full screen.
1923
1923
1923From Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server; some are drawings, prints or maps of their time. Each credit is in the viewer.
Finding Butchart Gardens
Central Saanich
It stands apart from the town’s other historic places.
Questions about Butchart Gardens
Can you visit Butchart Gardens?
Its exterior is visible from public ground; access inside is up to the owner.
Is Butchart Gardens protected?
The designation recognizes its national significance; it doesn’t by itself protect a building the federal government doesn’t own. Provincial or municipal designation may.
When was Butchart Gardens built?
Butchart Gardens went up in 1904–1940, by its record.
What is Butchart Gardens?
Since 2004, Butchart Gardens has been a National Historic Site of Canada.
Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada (Parks Canada).
Sources: Parks Canada, Directory of Federal Heritage Designations · Canadian Register of Historic Places (federal extract) · Photos: Wikimedia Commons, each credited with its licence and copied to our own server · Wikidata (CC0) for map points, other names and articles.
Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).