Friday, December 20, 2013

Government House Gardens



This is one of my favourite gardens in Victoria (you will see the other one in a future post). Government House is the official residence of the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia (the Queen's representative in the province).

The gardens are maintained by a group of volunteers who do an excellent job. One problem they have to deal with is deer. Some seem to live in the garden. After a while, you notice there are plants you would expect to see there, but are not. For instance, there is not a single hosta to be seen. I take it that it is because of the deer. I have only seen one or two dianthus,  probably because the soil is too acidic for their liking.

Let us go in by one of the main gates, checking the size of the tree on the right.



The garden is on a hill, and on one side of it there are paths on two different levels that overlook the city. Here are two cotoneasters.


Government House Gardens,Victoria B.C.





The same two shrubs together in one picture. It is the section of the garden I find most attractive.



Erigeron karvinskianus

On the other three sides of the house, the ground is flatter. There is is a formal rose garden, with few blooms left at this time of the year.

There are also several perennial borders.

At the back of some of them are mature trees. You realize how big these trees are when you notice the bench, under the clump of bamboo in the middle of the picture (you can click on the photo to enlarge it).


This large gazebo is a favorite place to sit and contemplate the peaceful setting.

Garden Structure

A small Japanese garden with a pond (hidden by the evergreen) sits at the base of one of these piles of granite that are to be found here and everywhere else in the city.


10 comments:

  1. The cotoneaster is spectacular and I love the obelisks.

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  2. How ideal to have one's garden kept by volunteers. Oh. Wait. That's what we are.
    As for the hostas, I cannot imagine how ours survive and thrive. Deer mouth sized chunks our of all of them by July; just stems by September.

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  3. That's a very interesting garden! We enjoyed our couple of visits to Victoria.

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  4. There's a studied wildness to much of this garden that I find attractive. And the fleabane in full bloom in December! Enjoy your strolls.

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  5. I didn't realize that cotoneaster got that big. It's stunning.

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  6. I love this garden especially the variety of different colours/shades in the first few photos. I could spend all day taking slow walks around it.
    I tried to enlarge the picture to find the bench under the bamboo but I still can't see it. Maybe it's my eyes.
    Seasonal Greetings to you and your family Alain.

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  7. Very beautiful garden. Fascinating landscape. A nice place to visit. Thanks for sharing

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  8. Thanks for the tour, very lovely, especially on this snowy day. Sheri

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