By Christine March, Master Gardener, SCMG
This is the 2nd instalment in a series celebrating the women who helped shape horticulture and gardening in Canada.
Jennie Butchart – Creator of The Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC
A young woman who overcame an early life marked by tragedy evolved to create one of Canada’s most outstanding public gardens. Today I’d like you to meet Jennie Butchart, one of Canada’s SHEroes of Horticulture.
Jeanette “Jennie” Foster Kennedy was born in 1865 in Toronto, the daughter of James and Martha Kennedy. Jennie’s father died when she was an infant; her mother died when she was just 12. The young orphan was sent to live with her aunt and extended family in Owen Sound where, in spite of her personal tragedies, she thrived. Jennie was bright, creative, and adventurous. She excelled in her studies and was admitted to the prestigious Brantford Young Ladies College. Upon graduation, Jennie was offered an art scholarship in Paris, France, but Jennie’s heart had been captured by an adventurous businessman, Robert Butchart, whom she met in Owen Sound. Jennie turned down the Parisian scholarship and, at the age of 18, married Butchart in 1884.
Robert was a leader in the development of cement and it was the lure of desirable limestone quarries that saw Robert, Jennie and their young daughters pack up and move out to Vancouver Island in 1902. There, Robert established a new quarry and processing plant on 135 acres, with a family home on-site. Two years later Robert Butchart established Portland Cement. This was a time of massive development on the west coast and cement was in huge demand. Robert Butchart’s timing couldn’t have been better. His business thrived and soon Portland Cement became the largest cement-producing factory west of the Great Lakes.
By 1908 the limestone quarry on their property was depleted and Jennie despaired at the sight of the huge, ugly hole adjacent to their home. The inspiration to create a garden hit Jennie “Like a flame,” she was to say, “for which I shall ever thank God.” She started by planting Lombardy and white poplars, along with Persian plums to block the view, progressing to plant within the empty quarry itself. In time, Jennie and her team had created what is now the crown jewel of Butchart Gardens: The Sunken Garden. Jennie and Robert’s travels overseas as well as the design trends of the day were significant influences. They also employed notable local landscape designers as the gardens expanded.
Word spread of Jennie’s beautiful gardens and Robert and Jennie graciously welcomed the surrounding community to come and visit. Jennie was known to serve tea and sweets on occasion to some of their many visitors. In gratitude for her efforts, Jennie Butchart was named Victoria’s Best Citizen in 1930.
From 1904 to 1939 Jennie and her team of designers and workers created five feature gardens which now collectively display over 900 varieties of plants. Labour shortages caused by WWII and incipient old age were making it difficult for Jennie to carry on with maintaining the gardens. In 1938 The Butcharts transferred the management of the gardens to their grandson Robert Ian Ross who transformed the gardens into the world-class destination that it is today.
Robert died in 1943; Jennie in 1950 at the age of 84. Jennie’s ashes were scattered over Tod Inlet, the location of their family home and the gardens she created and that bear the family name.
What was once an empty limestone quarry is now a National Historic Site that welcomes over one million visitors every year. The Butchart Gardens are the beautiful legacy of the indomitable Jennie Butchart, truly one of our great SHEroes of Horticulture.
