In every place we visit, there are hidden gems. These are usually places off the main tourist maps that offer a sense of what the city or town and its people are like. Sometimes it is a graveyard or a small park or even a café with home cooking. Yesterday, we walked to Victoria's Government House. It is the official residence of the province's lieutenant governor, Steven L. Point, a member of the Stó:lo Tribal Council and a hidden gem just outside the borders of downtown Victoria.
Since the 1990s, the public has been encouraged to visit the gardens and enjoy their serenity and spectacular views. The 36 acres features lawns, rose gardens, a duck pond, herb garden and an incredible stand of gnarly Garry Oaks. The house is on a hill overlooking the ocean so one can sit on benches scattered about a rockery and watch passing ships. Yesterday, about 25 ravens bathed in a tiny pond near our bench and chatted among themselves as they dried their feathers.
We came to the gardens in search of red rhododendrons. We had seen several in city gardens and I felt the Government House gardens would have an impressive display. I've photographed rhodos there before and they are overwhelming in their colour and number. However, it is early in the season and after walking for a half hour, we found only one bush. But the gardens didn't lack for colour and the variety of flowers in bloom was a delight to the eyes and my camera lens.
The duck pond was alive with mating mallards and at one point, they marched across the surrounding lawn towards an elderly couple sitting on a bench. It reminded me of the children's book set in Boston Public Garden called 'Make Way for Ducklings' by Robert McCloskey.
What makes these gardens unique is the tenacity of the plants as they cling to rocky granite outcrops. Thick moss and lichen compliment tulips and daffodils growing in soil trapped between rocky clefts. The formal gardens with fountains and trimmed hedges flourish beside wild spaces alive with native grasses and eerie, almost skeletal, oak trees. Pathways wind between these areas so as one turns a corner, one is surprised by yet another variety of plant.
The Government House gardens are a hidden gem filled with gem-like flowers and moments of peace to treasure.
Comments for this post
