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A Garden of Love 

By Barbara Ballard

When I moved to Victoria from the cold and colourless Yukon, I could hardly contain my excitement for the riot of blooms staring me in the face everywhere I looked. Only those who have shared my frozen northern exile can appreciate the deliriums of delight that 400,000 flowering bulbs can bring.

Zealous Victorians, down on their hands and knees every spring, gardening tools and seeds at the ready, in a fervor of planting, are eager to do justice to their city’s reputation as the city of gardens. I delighted in strolling along blossom-strewn streets that chronicle the first arrival of spring, then watching summer’s flowers take shape. It wasn’t long before I discovered Victoria’s public gardens, the envy of gardeners everywhere. It is these gardens—many maintained by volunteers—which are most accessible to travellers to the city.

On my list of ‘must visit’ was the newest garden to fire the imaginations of Victorians, the Abkhazi Garden, a visual interpretation of a love story that waited more than 20 years to blossom. The garden’s moods and character reflect those of Peggy and Nicholas Abkhazi whose love story began in Paris in 1920 when British expat Peggy (nee Pemberton-Carter) and Nicholas, an exiled Georgian Prince, met and fell in love. But life interfered. Torn apart by circumstance and war, Nicholas became a prisoner in a German POW camp, while the Japanese held Peggy. After the war Peggy searched for,  found, and married her Prince.

They moved to Victoria in 1946, purchased a rocky outcrop of land and began to build their garden of love. On show since 1949, the garden fell into a period of decline after Nicholas died in 1988 and Peggy followed in 1994. The garden was under the threat of a developer’s bulldozer until Victorians rushed with gusto to the rescue, raising money to stay the hand of progress. Though still in the infancy of its restoration, the grounds are slowly being brought back to their former glory.

I enjoyed a leisurely stroll in this intimate garden, covering not much more than .40ha (one acre) of ground where narrow paths connect one view to another. A dirt path wanders through a small woodland garden planted with rhododendrons, then opens onto a sunny south lawn.

At the far end of the lawn, a cozy summerhouse beckons. Ponds, stone steps and rock gardens wind through the property. Among the garden’s features are native Garry oaks, ornamental evergreens, natural bulbs and Japanese maples. Perched on the highest point of the garden is the small cottage where the couple lived. I paused at the base of a nearby rock in the garden, where, their ashes spread, Peggy and Nicholas are once again reunited, completing the love story.

Useful Information:

The Abkhazi Gardens are located at 1964 Fairfield Road, about 5 minutes from the downtown by car or bus. Open 10am-4pm Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sundays various days during the year. Admission by donation. Email: admin@conservancy.bc.ca. Website: www.conservancy.bc.ca.

©2002 Reproduction of this work (including photographs) in whole or in part, and including reproduction in electronic media, without the expressed permission of the author is prohibited.  All photos by Barbara Ballard

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