The Butchart Gardens in Vancouver: Be Kind to Nature

Travelers always feel amazed by the gorgeous beauty of Canada: crisp air， blue sky， majestic mountains， forests， endless prairies， farmlands， deep valleys， wild tundra. All this constitutes scenery at high latitudes of the north hemisphere. This beauty can be attributed to nature， but the human factor plays a significant in keeping this natural beauty intact in Canada， as testified by the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver.

I visited the Butchart Gardens years ago， but I still remember my visit most vividly， not because of its floral splendors， but mainly because of its human affinity with nature. While we were in Vancouver， our local tour guide advised us to see the gardens across the strait from Vancouver City. He said our visit to Vancouver would not be complete without a trip to the gardens.

So we decided to go. We got up early， ferried across the strait， and reached Vancouver Island without a hitch. We took a bus ride and reached a wooded valley. There were national flags of many countries flying above the parking lot. We walked past a few gift shops before we reached the gate to the Gardens. I had expected to see a park-like garden， or something that would resemble a large pretty garden. I did not see gardens that conformed to my preconceived ideas. Nor did I see large open spaces. What I saw were hill slopes， paths， and flowers everywhere. The gardens were like labyrinths and were in different styles. But they had one thing in common: flowers abounded. After the tour it occurred to me that I had been walking through a valley.

The gardens were pretty. The only thing that looked awkward there was a lonely smoke stack standing high among the woods at the high end of the valley. I became curious.

I asked our guide about the history of the gardens. I got my answer and afterwards I searched for more information. What I later read about the gardens further cemented my impressions of the Butchart Gardens. A garden， no matter how amazing it is， is just a garden. With something such as a history， it would be unforgettable. My memory of the Butchart Gardens is deeply cemented by the beautifying human touch the gardens received.

The gardens started with the Butchart Family. In 1888， the former dry goods merchant Robert Pim Butchart began manufacturing Portland cement near his birthplace Owen Sound， Ontario in the eastern part of Canada. By the turn of the century he had become a highly successful pioneer in this burgeoning North American industry. Attracted to the West Coast of Canada by rich limestone deposits vital for cement production， he built a factory at Tod Inlet on Vancouver Island. In 1904， he and his family established their home there.

The limestone in the quarry near their house was soon exhausted. Jennie Butchart， the enterprising wife of the cement producer， conceived a bold and unprecedented plan for refurbishing the bleak and gaping pit. Her idea was to line the floor of the abandoned quarry with soil and turn it into a garden. She bought tons of soil from farmland nearby and had it carted in. Under her supervision， the pit blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden.

The Butcharts loved to travel. They decided to build around their home what they had seen abroad. In 1908， the Butcharts had created a Japanese Garden on the sea-side of their home. The gatehouse in red is in the Japanese style. Inside are trees typical of Canada and Japan such as maples and cherry trees as well as a small bridge， streams and a floral shop. Later an Italian Garden was created on the site of their former tennis court， encircled by a wall of evergreen trees and dotted with two ponds. In 1929 a fine Rose Garden replaced a large kitchen vegetable patch. Thus the four gardens came into being.

Mr. Butchart took much pride in his wife's remarkable work. A great hobbyist， he collected ornamental birds from all over the world. He kept ducks in the Star Pond， noisy peacocks on the front lawn， and a curmudgeon of a parrot in the main house. He enjoyed training pigeons at the site of the present Begonia Bower， and had many elaborate bird houses stationed throughout Jennie's beautiful gardens.

The renown of Mrs. Butchart's gardening quickly spread. By the 1920s more than fifty thousand people came each year to see her creation. In a gesture toward all their visitors， the hospitable Butcharts christened their estate \"Benvenuto\"， the Italian word for \"Welcome\". To extend the welcome， flowering cherry trees along Benvenuto Avenue leading to The Gardens were purchased from Yokohama Nursery in Japan and installed from West Saanich Road to The Butchart Gardens' entrance.

The only surviving portion of Mr. Butchart's Tod Inlet cement factory is the tall chimney of a long vanished kiln. The chimney can be seen from The Sunken Garden Lookout. The plant stopped manufacturing cement in 1916， but continued to make tiles and flower pots as late as 1950. The single chimney now overlooks the quarry Mrs. Butchart so miraculously reclaimed.

Each year over 1，000，000 bedding plants in some 700 varieties are used throughout the Gardens to ensure uninterrupted bloom from March through October. Close to a million people visit each year， enjoying not only the floral beauty， but the entertainment and lighting displays presented each summer and Christmas.

Ownership of the Gardens remains within the Butchart family. And over decades， additional entertainment and tourism attractions have been added to make the gardens an all-season tourism destination.

An abandoned limestone quarry has become a garden of world renown. That’s why I believe the Butchart Gardens are a prototype of world significance for environmental protection. After all， the world has numerous gardens， but how many of them are built from ruins? The humanity has tried to grab benefits from nature for thousands of years， but rarely given back. Human beings have been punished for this mindless take. People will continue to seek benefit from nature， but adequate remedies must be provided to make sure that nature will not be damaged. The people in Canada knew what to do to protect environment 100 years ago when industrialization was all the rage. What can we Chinese do today about our environment when we are now fully dedicated to economic takeoff ? □