We’re back with what is going to be a semi-regular feature of taking the GPOD on the road to visit great public garden spaces. Today friend-of-the-GPOD Cherry Ong is taking us to visit the incredible Butchart Gardens in British Columbia. Specifically, she’s taking us to see the Rose Garden, the Perennial Borders, and Enchanting Arches Pathway. These photos are from her visit around the first week of August.

If you’ve visited a great public garden in your travels, or have one in your area that you’d like to share, please send in photos so we can all virtually enjoy these beautiful spaces. These submissions are particularly welcome now as we move into the colder time of the year for most of our readers and home garden activity and GPOD submissions tend to drop off.

The rose garden includes this huge, flower-covered rose shrub, which blends into the perennials and other shrub plantings beyond.

This part of the rose garden is classically formal, with a perfect lawn, trimmed hedges, and regimented rows of roses.

A gazing ball reflects the rose abundance all around it.

Roses may be notoriously fussy and sometimes disease-prone or otherwise problematic, but this picture shows why they are still one of the most beloved flowers in the world. It’s hard to beat their incredible beauty when grown well.

But this garden isn’t all roses. Here a variegated pagoda dogwood (Cornus alternifolia ‘Argentea’, Zones 3–7) steals the scene.

These rose beds are lined with white sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima, annual).

The Enchanting Arches Pathway features a long series of plant-covered arches.

The roses growing up these arches aren’t in flower at the moment, but the effect is still pure magic. Cherry says these are some of the best garden arches she’s ever seen, and I have to agree!

Climbing roses, despite the name, don’t really climb; they generally just have very long stems that can, with care, be attached and arranged to climb up arches and other structures. Covering each of these arches with roses involved an enormous amount of work, especially considering the thorns!

The arches are made of faux bois (fake wood) concrete to a beautiful effect.

 

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to gpod@taunton.com along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

If you want to send photos in separate emails to the GPOD email box that is just fine.

Have a mobile phone? Tag your photos on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with #FineGardening!

You don’t have to be a professional garden photographer – check out our garden photography tips!

Do you receive the GPOD by email yet? Sign up here.

Fine Gardening Recommended Products

Scotts Cordless Grass-Shear/Shrub-Trimmer Combo

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

With a built-in 7.2-volt lithium-ion battery, this little guy weighs less than 2 lb. and can zip through all your minor pruning tasks quickly and easily.
- 13.5 x 3 x 5 inches
- Uses a 7.2-Volt 2Ah high-capacity built-in lithium-ion battery; Includes a fast charger

Buy at Amazon

ARS Telescoping Long Reach Pruner

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

Telescopes from 4 to 7'. Cut and Hold (160) Blades. Drop forged blades for unsurpassed long lasting sharpness. Lightweight, 2.3 lbs., for continued use. Perfectly balanced for easy pruning.

Buy at Amazon

The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees

Fine Gardening receives a commission for items purchased through links on this site, including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs.

The Nature of Oaks reveals what is going on in oak trees month by month, highlighting the seasonal cycles of life, death, and renewal. From woodpeckers who collect and store hundreds of acorns for sustenance to the beauty of jewel caterpillars, Doug Tallamy illuminates and celebrates the wonders that occur right in our own backyards. He also shares practical advice about how to plant and care for an oak, along with information about the best oak species for your area.

Buy at Amazon