Takata Gardens

The Takata Garden is located in Gorge Park. Here's a bit of the history of this garden, from the Township of Esquimalt Walking Tours pamphlet:

In 1907 the Takata Gardens opened. Yoshitaro Kishida, a partner in the gardens, brought his father Isaburo Kishida to Victoria from Yokohama, Japan to design the gardens. Kishida also designed the Japanese Gardens at Hatley Park and Butchart Gardens.

The one-acre Takata Gardens had many trees and shrubs imported from Japan [that] were highly respected for their authenticity and beauty. The Tea Gardens were in operation until the beginning of WWII when the Takata family was relocated, along with other Japanese families, to the interior of the province and beyond. The Tea Gardens closed and the grounds fell victim to neglect and vandalism.

Today, enjoy the beautiful beginnings of a restored Japanese Garden and if you look closely some of the original plantings can still be seen.

When it opened in 1907, the original garden was the first Japanese garden in Canada.

Camellia

Last week I mentioned that I'd seen some blossoms lately despite this being mid-winter. Here's one I saw last week in the Japanese Garden in Gorge Park. I think the flower pictured here is a Camellia. It was bearing many of these lovely flowers on a bush about as tall as myself. Though it was a cold wet afternoon, seeing these flowers made it seem a lot warmer. Sunday was the shortest day of the year so we are now on what I think of as the downhill run towards spring with every day a little bit longer than the one before. The Japanese Garden in Gorge Park is an on-site restoration of Canada's first Japanese garden. We'll have a closer look at the garden later this week.

Hatley Park

Overlooking Esquimalt Lagoon is Hatley Castle, built by James Dunsmuir as a residence about 100 years ago. James was the son of Robert Dunsmuir, who earlier built the city of Victoria landmark,Craigdarroch Castle. After James died, Hatley Castle became the home of Royal Roads Military College and in its most recent incarnation, it has become Royal Roads University.I actually went out there to see some of the province's largest trees, Douglas Firs that are over 250 years old. However, I got sidetracked by the castle's formal Italian, Rose and Japanese Gardens and between the heat and the floral overload I never made it to the forest. Next time! Below are a couple of shots from the Japanese Garden.

Below is a flower that was blooming in another Hatley Park Garden called the "Bog Garden." If anyone knows what this spectacularly colored flower is, kindly let me know.