Chapter 1 Women and Their Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Watercolour showing Jennie standing in front of the stream. She is on the path, surrounded by green and yellow bushes. The trees also have colourful foliage. Jennie is wearing a long dark purple dress, a pinkish blouse, and grey shoes.

Hello!
My name is Jennie Butchart. I live on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia. This beautiful island is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean!
I’m passionate about plants! I’m lucky to have been able to create several gardens that change throughout the year.
I especially love my Japanese Garden—it's so peaceful. A stream runs through it, and the leaves on the surrounding trees change colour with the seasons.

Innovative Gardens

In the early 1900s, I moved to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to open a cement plant with my husband. Here in Brentwood Bay, winters are mild and the Pacific Ocean surrounds us. In 1906, I began creating my Japanese Garden by the sea. In the 1920s, I planted my first Himalayan blue poppies—one of the first to do so in Canada. Quite an achievement!

Jennie Butchart in front of her residence
Jennie Butchart is at the centre of the first black-and-white photograph. She is posing in front of her residence, where several planters are visible. Some are hanging from a trellis, while others decorate the ground. All are filled with plants of varying sizes and blooms.

Over the years, I developed several gardens. The closure of the cement plant in 1912 gave me the opportunity to create a truly unique garden: the Sunken Garden. I also created a rose garden with 2,500 fragrant rose bushes.

Jennie Butchart in the Japanese Garden
In this black-and-white photograph, Jennie Butchart is walking through her garden. She stands on one of the stepping stones along the path that crosses the stream. In the background, leafy trees can be seen. In the foreground, shrubs of various sizes line the path and the stream.

The Butchart Gardens are also a National Historic Site of Canada—they are precious and must be protected.
Today, my gardens attract over a million visitors each year. They span 55 acres!

Rose Garden
In this colour photograph, the Rose Garden stands out with its abundance of blooms. In the background, a pathway is topped with arches covered in climbing roses. Hanging baskets filled with colourful flowers are suspended from the arches. In the foreground, numerous red, white, yellow, and pink rose bushes are in full bloom.

Hello!

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