July 25th, 2018, Victoria, BC – The World Federation of Rose Societies (WFRS) has recognized The Butchart Gardens with an Award of Excellence and a commemorative plaque at their recent conference held in Copenhagen, Denmark. The conference is held every three years.

Attending the conference and accepting the award, on behalf of The Butchart Gardens, was long time employee and Rose Garden supervisor, John Hill. “We have a wonderful team of gardeners and staff. I was so proud to represent them and the owner of The Butchart Gardens in accepting the award”.

Dave Cowen, CEO of The Butchart Gardens echoes the sentiment and adds “It is a great honour to be recognized by the WFRS with this award. We take pride in what we do here and hope our efforts are always in keeping with the vision of Jennie Butchart and her descendants that continues the legacy today”.

Six other gardens were also recognized with an Award of Excellence for 2018. The Butchart Gardens extends congratulations to fellow winners, Rosarium Baden Vienna, Austria, Queensland State Rose Garden, Australia, Daxing Rose Garden, China, Yokohama English Garden, Japan, Christchurch Botanic Rose Gardens, New Zealand and Laura Conyers Smith Rose Garden, USA.

The World Federation of Rose Societies was founded in 1968 in London, England by representatives from the rose societies of Australia, Belgium, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa, Great Britain and the United States of America. Its stated purpose is to hold international rose conferences and act as a clearing house for rose research, now made up of national rose societies of 40 countries, the organization represents rose lovers around the world.

The Butchart Gardens is an internationally renowned 55-acre (22 hectare) display garden located near Victoria, British Columbia. Created in 1904 by Jennie Butchart, and still privately owned and operated by family descendants, The Gardens has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada and welcomes over one million visitors a year.

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Media Contact:
Daphne Gardner
Manager, Public Relations
daphnegardner@gmail.com
250-544-4481