Victoria Butterfly Gardens (indoor tropical greenhouse)

Victoria Butterfly Gardens is a tourist attraction at Brentwood Bay, in the municipality of Central Saanich, a five-minute drive from Butchart Gardens. The first dated landmark concerns two Caribbean flamingos that arrived after the closure, in 2004, of the Crystal Garden Tropical Conservatory in central Victoria: one of them, Mango, has lived here for more than twenty years and reached 50 in November 2025. On 19 October 2008 the first "Butterfly Places and Pumpkin Faces" event raised funds for the pediatric ward of Victoria General Hospital.

The major project on record dates from 2013. A new boiler had been installed in 2012; the following autumn the attraction closed in October and November to replace its roof, build a new gift shop, remove several interior pillars and renew the jungle-themed entrance. The roughly 250 koi were entrusted to a neighbouring aquaculture business, the birds stayed on site in large enclosures and the other animals in a container. It reopened in early December 2013 with its Christmas lights, after nine weeks during which the dormant tropical plants took a little longer than planned to revive.

An insectarium had just opened when British Columbia Magazine profiled the attraction in May 2017. Since 2019 a Colombian butterfly farm, Alas de Colombia, has been among its suppliers, and the attraction now says it holds "Green Leader" certification, the highest level of the BC Green Business program.

The building houses an indoor rainforest of 12,000 square feet (about 1,100 m²), which the operator compares to nearly three basketball courts. A computer controls temperature, light, misting, cooling and humidity; the attraction states 26 to 30 °C and about 70 percent humidity.

Until 2013 the roof consisted of glass panes framed by timber beams. It was replaced with 10-millimetre translucent polycarbonate on an epoxied steel frame, with a design that follows the outline of the old roof. The clearest possible material was chosen to let through the ultraviolet light that prompts butterflies to fly, while holding heat better than glass: management expected lower heating needs and a smaller carbon footprint. The roof work went to Harjim Industrial Services, with project management by Sculpin Fish Design; removing interior pillars opened up sight lines.

The route winds past a pond, a stream and a waterfall, passes canopy platforms where birds perch and runs beside an emerging window where imported chrysalises hang.

According to Wikipedia, the greenhouse holds more than 200 species of tropical plants, including carnivorous plants. The official site highlights a vanilla orchid, a giant timber bamboo, epiphytes, pitcher plants and the "pink chenille plant", native to Malaysia, which, according to the attraction, only one butterfly species feeds on, the White Tree Nymph.

Up to seventy species of butterflies fly freely. The attraction imports between 600 and 1,400 chrysalises a week from more than seventy species. Stock used to come mainly from Costa Rica and Asia, but a good share of certain species is now bred on site, using host plants grown in the gardens. According to Wikipedia, blue morphos and owl butterflies are the most frequent visitors to the trays of fermenting fruit.

All animals other than insects are rescues, donations or adoptions: poison dart frogs, red-footed tortoises, an iguana, a Caribbean flamingo, macaws, koi, a Fly River turtle and a small Cuvier's dwarf caiman. Pest control relies on beneficial insects and small European wall lizards. A separate insectarium shows insects and invertebrates from around the world.

The greenhouse stands at Brentwood Bay, about 20 km north of central Victoria and a five-minute drive from Butchart Gardens, which one outing can combine with it. Most visitors spend between 45 minutes and an hour and a half, according to the attraction's FAQ. The interior is warm and humid, so light, breathable clothing suits any season.

The site is open every day except 25 December, wheelchair accessible, with free parking. There is no café on site, but snacks are sold in the gift shop and restaurants stand in Brentwood Bay. The insectarium is among the attractions the venue advertises, and since the indoor climate is computer-controlled, a visit does not depend on the weather outside.