There is nothing more awe-inspiring then spring in Victoria, British Columbia. While the rest of Canada is still suffering through cold and snow in March, Victoria is already getting a jump on spring as the small pink cherry blossoms are starting to bloom and the daffodils and tulips are up and showing their wonderful colors. And of course the grass is already green!

The AAA TourBook editorial department makes a list of attractions for the inspectors to visit during the year (we visit them to get information for our guides but they are not Approved  or Diamond Rated). On my list was a place called Abkhazi Garden located in Victoria.  I’ve been inspecting Victoria for 16 years and, to be honest, had never heard of these gardens. So on a gloriously sunny day, I punched the address into my GPS and headed off, wondering where the heck I was going.

I headed into a residential neighborhood, past an elementary school, gas station and small shopping plaza, still wondering if I would find it.  I spotted a tiny but encouraging sign on a post that read ‘Abkhazi Gardens” with an arrow pointing ahead.  Within minutes I stopped in front of the tall, dark brown fence  -  this was Abkhazi Garden. It certainly didn’t look like much of a garden to me. At the fenced entrance gate was  a couple under a small protective tent taking admissions.  It cost $10 to enter which I thought at the time seemed rather steep but boy, was it worth it!

Although this was still early spring the flowers, budding trees, grounds and walking paths through the garden were quite stunning. However, it’s the background story of these gardens that is really amazing.

The story, detailed in the provided guide, began in 1920s Paris when a young Peggy Pemberton-Carter met the exiled Georgian Prince, Nicholas Abkhazi. They kept in touch through correspondence and occasional meetings over the years.  During World War II both were interred in separate prisoner-of-war camps and they lost track of each other.

After Peggy’s eventual release she arrived in Victoria in 1945 and bought this large treed and rocky lot. In 1946, Peggy received a letter from Nicholas, they soon met again and this time were married in November 1946.

The couple built their home in 1947 and for 40 years continued to design and improve on this magnificent garden. When they passed away in the 90s the home and gardens were willed to their trusted longtime gardener but he was unable to maintain both the home and gardens and sold to a developer who wanted tear up the gardens and build on this plot of land.

Thank goodness for the Land Conservancy of BC , a charitable land trust dedicated in protecting natural areas, historic sites, farms and ranches and places of community importance.  They acquired the home and gardens in 2000 and today the gardens are open to the public and the home is now a Tea House serving lunches and afternoon tea . (Note that you will have to pay admission into the gardens even if you only want to have lunch or afternoon tea at the tea house.)

The Abkhazi Garden is filled with ponds, rhododendrons, arbutus trees and flowers of every description. If you’re ever in Victoria make this one of your stops. We’ve made it easier for you to find, click on the map to see the  location in TripTik Travel Planner online, print or email the map or upload it to your iPhone’s TripTik Mobile app (coming soon for Android).