Spring Prelude at the Butchart Gardens
"You came all the way from San Diego in the middle of winter to see the Butchart Gardens?" I did not realize it was winter until the Canadian immigration officer said so. My concept of winter had always been the "Winter Wonderland" as sang by Michael Bublé. While it may have been four weeks past Christmas Day, it felt more like just another rainy Pacific Northwest day in Victoria, the capital city of the Canadian Province of British Columbia. I did not visit Butchart Gardens with Thelma and Vilma six years ago because I thought I have seen enough gardens in the US. I went north of the Vancouver Islands to Nanaimo to visit Cousin Aurel and Ching instead of going south to the Saanich Peninsula by Brentwood Bay. I did not know what I was missing until Thelma showed me pictures of Vilma blooming among the blooms and floral display of the Butchart Gardens. "Whether you're planning to visit this season or the next, t...