the 'deer' little houses of Victoria

We've been home from Victoria for two weeks, and I'll admit that I am still looking for my heart among the stuff I unpacked on our return. Ontario's earnest but feeble attempts at spring don't cheer me as in other years. Victoria's exquisite gardens play like a repeating loop in my mind. One of our best garden experiences (and I won't go on about it, as this is an architecture blog) were the acres surrounding the Lieutenant Governor's house (1959) in Victoria.


Laughably, I didn't even take a photo, so satiated was I with faux castles after the walk through Rockland after a visit to Craigdarroch! And my eye was drawn down the exquisitely landscaped natural paths around the house to the Terrace Gardens and an inviting bench overlooking the Salish Sea.

giant sequoia dwarfing giant gates

Oh, yes, here's a link to the house, if you, like me, want to know more about its architecture and its history. Just as we rounded the corner of the vice-regal digs, I noted this little fellow making short work of the shrubs in the v-r flower bed. It's that kind of a garden. Just beyond lay 22 acres of wild oak savannah. Here's more on the gardens.

Now, back to the dear little cottages we encountered along our many walks. More on them later.