The final thing Mrs. H wanted to show me today was her old stomping grounds along the water front. It was a beautiful drive and exactly the sort of thing I miss out on when I don’t have a local guide. She also recommended I check out Ross Bay Cemetery, where many prominent Victorians are buried, including Emily Carr a writer and painter. I didn’t find that grave, but I did photograph quite a few interesting ones.
Today was a rich, full day. Thanks, Mrs. H!
Mrs. H wanted to round out the Butchart Garden excursion with an introduction to a traditional English high tea. Neil Z commented last night that he had an amazing high tea experience at the White Heather Tea Room. A quick check of other reviews convinced me to try it out. We ordered the ‘Big Muckle Giant Tea’ and were not disappointed!
I didn’t think to bring in my camera, so here is an idea of what our spread looked like, on three plates set on a tiered stand:
we didn’t have that huge plate of shortbread in the foreground 🙂
They have a large selection of teas, including Balmoral, their version of the Earl Grey and jasmine tea I discovered in Edmonton. Yuuuuum.
The homemade fare is worth describing in detail. Let’s see if I can remember it all. 🙂
Tier One (the bottom plate):
-scone (cranberry or apricot ginger) with Devonshire (sweet whipped) cream, raspberry preserves, and/or lemon curd;
-mini quiche with sundried tomatoes;
-a bite-sized cheese thing with roasted red peppers (yuuuuuuum);
-fruit slices (apple and orange).
Tier two (middle plate):
-a mini savory scone with the most amazing smoky sweet salmon I have ever had;
-rolled sandwiches (egg (which I didn’t eat); ham with relish; and cucumber with cream cheese on marbelized rye (yuuuuuuum)).
Tier three (top plate):
Dessert!
-an incredible cranberry brownie (that had a distinct coffee aftertaste);
-lemony blueberry pound cake with icing;
-a cheesy cracker thing with a bit of apple on top (one of my favourite things today);
-delicious crispy and buttery shortbread (I’ll admit to dipping it in Devonshire cream mixed with raspberry preserves!);
-a little tart filled with lemon curd and topped with Devonshire cream.
I wound up taking most of Mrs. H’s desserts home and will enjoy them with regular tea before bed. 🙂
It didn’t seem like much food until we started on it. The portions were small, but there were a lot of them.
High tea at the White Heather Tea Room is definitely an experience I will never forget. Thank you for the recommendation, Neil!
Butchart Gardens is probably the best known Victoria attraction. They were planted in the early 20th century in what used to be a limestone quarry. While this sounded ‘nice’, I knew it would not be my best use of nearly $30, so I was going to skip it, but Mrs. H insisted on taking me there.
We had a wonderful time and I greatly enjoyed myself, more than I would have had I gone on my own since Mrs. H was able to tell the names of a lot of the flowers.
My favourite gardens were the Japanese and the Sunken and my least favourite was the Italian. I like Japanese gardens because they feel very natural for all their formality, with soft ground covers, ponds with bridges, and rocky paths. The Sunken Garden was a formidable feat of horticulture; transforming the lunar landscape of a limestone query into a Technicolour world straight out of a fantasy. I don’t like Italian gardens because they are too stiff and formal, very hard with stone underfoot and statues all around.
These are the best pictures I took:
Mediterranean garden
Mediterranean garden
angeliques (type of tulip)
trillium (the provincial flower of Ontario)
the snail fountain
forget-me-nots
you walk along this dark path only to emerge…
in a whole new world! I was *awed*!
camelias
this chimney is all that is left of the cement factory that used to be on the property
camelias
pansies
these are wire animals covered with moss
checkered or snake lilies; the petals have a snakeskin pattern
more moss-covered wire animals
hyacinthes
a moss-covered wire frog
English daisies
seed field
look closely; this yellow tulip has a red petal!
the frog fountain
approaching the entrance to the Japanese garden
sturgeon fountain
the two ravens were breaking off twigs to build their nest
these lamps made me smile
moss-covered ground
a wall of bamboo
bamboo walkway
Butchart Cove
crane fountain
magnolias
another frog fountain, this time at the star pond
star pond
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard taking a nap in the star pond
entrance to the Italian garden
Italian garden
Visiting Butchart Gardens was a pleasant way to wile away a few hours, but it still feels way overpriced to me, impressed as I was by the way the old quarry was completely transformed.