Abkhazi Garden

Victorian Garden Tours loves to escourt our visitors through Abkhazi garden, a beautiful heritage garden established by Prince and Princess Abkhazi over fifty years ago. This is truly an enchanted place with a garry oak meadow, glacial rock outcropping, magnificent vistas. Throughout there are wonderful plant combinations incorporating both native and exotic plants. We enter the garden through the gate into a wonderful grove of heritage rhododendrons which have been pruned up. Under the graceful branches there is a carpeting of groundcovers combined with other shade loving plants. Throughout the year there are treasures to discover as you wander through this inviting woodland along meandering paths. Upon leaving the woodland you arrive in a garden room with an inviting lawn area where you can sit on a beautiful crafted bench backed by the majestic rhododendrons and surrounded by deeply layered mixed borders. Leaving this area you pass under a historic Abies pinsapo glauca planted by Prince Abkhazi and enter upon a magnificent glacial rock outcropping featuring three ponds and a range of alpine plantings including historic conifers. This rockoutcopping looks over a lawn designed by Princess Abkhazi which leads up to a summer cottage under a canapy of magnificent garry oaks. To see our pictures of this beautiful garden click the following link Visit the Abkhazi Gallery. For more general information and historic information please visit the Abkhazi Garden website by clicking here!

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A Testimonial

From Martin Kovar
As a graduate of two Master of Landscape Architecture programs and a practicing residential garden designer in Canada, I was truly pleased with the high standard or guided tours offered by Joan Looy of Victorian Garden Tours. Having participated in several escorted visits to gardens in Europe, Joan surprised me with a customized itinerary of sites tailored to satisfy my individual interests, based on a telephone discussion Joan initiated in advance of our tour.

Paying careful attention to each garden location and exposure, Joan lined up our visits so as to show each site in the optimal light and time of day. Her intimate knowledge of Victoria gardens and access privileges to a vast array of sites, allowed me, an out of province visitor, to start my day experiencing the quiet wonder of treading on a grassy path shimmering with silver dew, hemmed by cushy mounds of textural perennials. Similarly, the study of shadow play and rich colours of pealing bark displayed by an aged rhododendron grouping, were offered in the afternoon.

Like a chef, Joan took me through the day serving the exact right dishes at the most appropriate times, with heavy emphasis on desert items. Delight yourself, and sample some of the sites Victorian Garden Tours gained access to over many years in business. Let Joan know about your taste preferences, and she will do her best to satisfy your appetite for the art of gardening.

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