July 2026 Garden Report

By Thea Hegland, Plant I.D. Supervisor

Rosarians rejoice! The most evocative flower of all time is flaunting a full palette of sumptuous blooms at The Gardens now.

Ahhh…Roses. So exquisite, the silky petals and intoxicating scent. The temptation to touch and the fear of thorns, but it’s so worth all the thrills. The warm summer days bring Roses and more Roses. Tumbling and spilling over arbours, the scent lures us to the heart of The Gardens, where the Rose Garden delights all who wander. Reminiscent of a simpler time, when sweet scented Roses grew in your grandmother’s garden, a neighbourhood stroll had you peering over a fence to smell an old overgrown rambling Rose.

A garden pathway lined with lush green hedges, featuring an archway covered in clusters of pink and red roses, likely belonging to the genus Rosa. The roses create a vibrant, colorful canopy above the walkway — Rose arches in the Rose Garden

A true Rose lover myself, I vividly remember collecting the colourful petals as a young girl and creating my own signature scent of eau de parfum Le Rose. I filled old vintage bottles and added petals and water, setting up shop in my old Victoria neighbourhood. I made a few notable sales and was able to venture to the corner store and buy some candy for my efforts.

Those early exposures to flowers eventually led me to my dream job at The Butchart Gardens. Surrounded by flowers, as the in-house floral designer for The Gardens, I actually get to use some of the very same heirloom vases Jennie Butchart herself used to fill her grand home with the garden’s bounty of flowers, and to my utmost delight, these days I have Roses in the cut garden!

A bouquet of various roses, including red, pink, and orange blooms, arranged in a textured white vase. The roses display a range of sizes and shades, with lush green leaves interspersed among the flowers. The background features a bright, well-lit room with a mirror and greenery visible outside — A floral arrangement for The Dining Room, beautifully displayed in a cherished heirloom vase

The Rose Garden encompasses a fascinating collection of more than 280 different Roses. There is a significant collection of old Roses dating back to late 1797, with several others circa 1815 – 1840. There is also a beautiful collection of David Austen Roses, which are some of my personal favourites. Incredible flower form and the fragrance is sublime.

Be sure to check out the Jennie Butchart Rose. The deep pink hybrid tea was introduced in 1975 and has been a treasured part of the collection ever since.