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GARDEN NEWS & VIEWS
| Spring comes early to Victoria. In fact, the early blooming, oriental cherry trees found around town are often in flower by late January.
Our own garden has bulbs of every type and colour. Snowdrops are first (often in late December) followed shortly by the crocuses, then daffodils and narcissus, early tulips, scilla, grape hyacinths, iris, bluebells, ixia, fritillaria, late blooming tulips and daffodils, alliums, etc. We also enjoy calendula, bellis, pansies, and primrose, along with the blossoms of our pear tree and cherry tree in these cooler months.
Then summer brings on our oriental lilies, wisteria, iris, bluebells, dianthus, tiarella, poppies, lilac, alstroemeria, geraniums, daisies, cala lilies, roses, sweet peas, scabiosa, pond lilies, lavender, and the cherries.
And in the late summer and fall we enjoy the sedums, Japanese anemones, hydrangea, lysimachia, garden mums, colchicum (autumn crocus), and the fruit of the pear tree. |
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Our tulips, narcissus, bluebells. |
Snowdrops in the front bed (often appearing as early as December!) |
Ixia - early summer delights,
in our front garden. |
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Narcissus in the back garden. |
Lovely, fragrant grape hyacinths. |
Early season tulips in the
warming sunlight.
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The feature of the back garden is the lily pond and inviting deck built around an old cherry tree. Relax on the cedar rocking chairs amidst the cherry blossom "snowfall".
In the front garden there are raised beds in the English Country Garden style (everything, everywhere) but in early spring the flowering currant steals the show with its boughs of striking pink blossoms. |
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| Some Famous Victoria Gardens |
When it comes to enjoying gardens, we’ve experienced nearly all the gardens Victoria has to offer. To name a few, there are the world famous Butchart Gardens; the exquisite, smaller scale, Abkhazi Garden (the Garden that Love Built ); the Finnerty Garden at the University of Victoria - renowned for its fantastic rhododendron display; the expansive formal and casual gardens at Hatley Park (a popular movie set); the Glenwood Gardens (a horticultural school) featuring the amazing Doris Page Winter Garden; the kitchen garden at the Sooke Harbour House with its whimsical garden art; the Rose Gardens in Windsor Park; and of course the stunning variety of garden styles in Victoria's downtown showpiece, majestic Beacon Hill Park (just 3 blocks from our B&B). |
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| Our Tranquil Seaside Neighbourhood |
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Part of our neighbourhood of south Fairfield from atop Anderson Hill, with a backdrop of the ethereal Sooke Hills,
then Washington State’s Olympic Mountain Range just 25 miles beyond.
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This oceanside jogging / walking path and the scenic marine drive
are just a half block from Binners’ Bed and Breakfast. They go
on for miles and miles. |
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We're just 25 minutes on foot to Victoria's vibrant Inner Harbour, downtown. These are the Wharf Street boat slips,
with West Bay Marina across the harbour. |
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Earliest spring crocuses on ancient mossy rocks beneath one of Vancouver Island's native, protected, gnarled Garry Oak trees,
and in the distance, a scattering of homes in our own lovely
neighbourhood of Fairfield. |
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Peacocks from Beacon Hill Park often go exploring in our neighbourhood. This colourful fellow is investigating
the yarrow flowers in our front garden. |
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Gentle, late day summer sunshine backlighting the trees, lawns
and wild poppies along the scenic marine drive. |
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A special occasion? Your romantic, horse drawn carriage awaits, right across the street. Tour the waterside, Beacon Hill Park, the Inner Harbour and Old Town. As your concierge, we are
happy to reserve one, just for you. |
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Our Breakfasts |
| We enjoy making each day’s breakfast a memorable experience ... to start, we set the table with different linens, stemware and bone china patterns each day.
All our breakfasts are multi-course, including a tempting fruit dish, home baking and a hot entrée. Breakfast main dishes include homemade crepes, Belgian waffles with berries and mixed grill, herbed soufflés, goat cheese frittata, among others.
It is our habit to check for food allergies or food dislikes when you reserve with us so we can plan the kinds of breakfasts you can enjoy.
Or, with sufficient notice, room-service breakfasts (continental style) are also available, as are Take-Away picnic-style breakfasts if you need an early start.
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This photo of the dining room is taken from just outside, on the deck, beyond the French doors. Each day, the dining table is set with
different linens, stemware and fine china … today’s pattern is
Villeroy & Boch’s white herringbone design, called ‘Look’. |
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This is pomegranate juice, grapes with gingered crème fraîche, fresh baked apricot almond scone and Cinnamon Orange French Toast with bacon. |
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Here’s banana, strawberry and orange juice, fresh baked croissant with triple-fruit preserves, minted fresh fruit, and our Southwestern Quiche, with grilled asparagus and fresh crudités. |
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Binners’ Vignettes |
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The custom designed bird’s-eye maple desk in Cascadia Suite’s sitting room, chrome and amber glass vases, and current issue of Visitor’s Choice magazine. |
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Edge of raised fireplace mantle in Cascadia’s bedroom with built-in bookshelf with black matte lamp and cream and black linen shade. |
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Whimsical spiral begonia revelling in the afternoon sun in the dining room. All throughout the home, you will find live plants and flowers ... bringing the warmth of nature indoors. |
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Detail of custom-designed, suspended night table in Cascadia Suite’s bedroom, leopard spot lamp, kitsch chrome plant pot, stitched leather and mahogany headboard, with ultasuede duvet cover and shams. |
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| In Cascadia Suite’s bedroom, detail of corduroy swivel easy chair with fringed chenile throw and scalloped-front console table with beaded-edged pewter tray. |
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Green spider-mum in shiny black vase on window ledge in Fairfield Suite’s bathroom. All of our bathrooms' openable windows allow in the fresh sea air. |
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Wisteria, ranunculus, and the famous tumbling checker board red door greet you on arrival. |
Lovers forged in metal, tiny dogwood twigs in iridescent glass mini-vase, small printed bentwood box on the mantle in the Harmony Room. |
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Cascadia Suite’s spa-like bathroom, infused with bright, natural light from the glass block feature wall and the openable window. |
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| EVERY SORT OF SPORTS |
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The Cricket Pitch in Beacon Hill Park. Do YOU understand how it's played??? |
Several local marinas offer mooring as well as a variety of sailing options. |
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| World class windsailing on the waterfront at the bottom of Linden Avenue, just a half block from us at Binners’ Bed and Breakfast. |
Commonwealth Pool has fabulous modern facilities. An olympic-size pool, splash pool, multi-storey slide, etc. There are public swimming times, including an adult-only schedule most days. |
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Victoria has over 300 golf days a year … more than any other Canadian city. Can we assist you in getting a tee time? |
Enjoy ocean and river kayaking from beginner to expert level with groups, with or without guides, or on your own. |
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You’ll find your style of horseback-riding, less than an hour’s drive away. |
Bring your bike and/or blades. There are bike trails with various levels of difficulty, with your name on them, located all around the region. We can book you into a Cycle Trek (bikes provided). |
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Sports in Victoria
Victoria’s regions are quite diverse from farmland to vineyard to cityscape to forest wilderness to solitary beaches and quiet ocean inlets.
You'll find your kind of play here ... golfing, cycling, swimming, tennis, darts, ice-skating, jogging, squash, power-walking, skate-boarding, etc. etc.
Wanna be a spectator instead? Our local arenas and playing fields host a variety of sports programs, like hockey, curling, lacrosse, soccer, lawn bowling, cricket, skating, golf, track and field, world class diving and swimming, cycling and several marathons including the world famous Royal City Marathon.
So, whatever you think you’re interested in, we, at Binners ... a Contemporary Oasis, are your concierge. Let us help put you in touch with the right people.
Please be aware that many wilderness-experience providers are one or two-person companies; so it ‘s best to give us as much notice of your interest as possible. |
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Scuba diving here is world class, and there's a dive shop and site less than a mile from Binners’ Bed and Breakfast. |
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Ziplining is an absolute rush! Imagine skimming along through rainforest wilderness tree-tops. |
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| Yes to Green |
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1. Our in-room and in-suite lamps have energy saving bulbs that last and last and last.
For reading lamps we use brighter 23 watt bulbs and for accent lamps we use 15 or 13 watt. |
2. For laundry, we use Charlie's All-Natural Laundry Soap. It's hypo-allergenic, non- toxic, certified bio-degradable.
It is filler-free and highly concentrated; so that we only need one tablespoon per large load.
3. This saves shipping (think 'carbon output') as well as packaging, and storage costs for retailers and for us. |
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4. Our guest rooms have regular and recycle waste baskets so guests may (if they choose) recycle unwanted paper, plastic or metal.
5. As for returnable containers, we return all water, soda, liquor and wine bottles for re-use where possible. |
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6. Outside porch and garage door lanterns are on timers so they're not on all night.
7. Others are motion sensitive. |
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How else do we walk the walk? |
Greening the Car |
8. One car family.
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9. Drive car with ‘overdrive’ on whenever possible.
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10. Do many tasks on one trip.
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11. Keep trunk empty ... a lighter car uses less fuel.
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12. Use lead-free regular instead of highly processed more expensive fuel.
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13. Drive with the windows closed to reduce drag.
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14. Ride-share when attending out-of-town events or meetings.
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Greening the Office |
15. Re-use the backs of printer paper for draft copies of documents.
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16. Send e-confirmations instead of hard copies.
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17. Use copy paper which is from recycled materials.
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18. Pay bills by computer instead of using envelopes and stamps.
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19. View faxes online instead of printing them (especially if junk).
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Conservation of Resources |
20. Turn off lights in empty rooms (except where necessary for egress routes).
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21. Zone heating in all the rooms ... guests have thermostatic controls for each bedroom, sitting room and bathroom.
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22. Computer is turned off at night.
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23. Heat is turned off in empty rooms.
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24. Natural gas water heater and clothes dryer are energy efficient.
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25. B&B was designed with multiple skylights to use available daylight and sunlight’s heat.
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26. The skylights are openable to allow heat to escape in summer ... inexpensive cooling.
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27. Switched from oil to zoned electric heat backed up by natural gas fireplaces.
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28. As-needed, sheets and towels changes.
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29. We’ve greatly reduced the size of the lawn, so much less water is needed.
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30. All bathrooms have efficient low-flow, ‘water saver’ toilets and ...
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31. water-saving, adjustable-spray showerheads.
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32. Dishwasher is run only when full and ...
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33. only in Energy-Saver mode.
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34. Most of the natural gas fireplaces are thermostat-controlled to avoid over-heating and fuel wastage.
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35. Curtains and blinds are left open on winter days, so the sun warms the rooms naturally.
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36. All room area rugs are wool (renewable resource) instead of synthetic.
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37. Our renovations included energy efficient windows, extra insulation, draft proofing, etc.
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38. We purchase locally whenever possible, saving fuel and time (and supporting local businesses and trades people).
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| Cleaning |
39. Re-usable, washable cleaning rags and dust-cloths.
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40. Chemical-free cleaning of glass doors and mirrors.
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41. Avoid use of aerosol cans whenever possible since they cannot be recycled at the curb.
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| Garden |
42. Kitchen waste (excluding animal products) is composted and used for the garden.
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43. Pesticide-free garden producing organic cherries and pears, plus ...
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44. herbs (rosemary, mint, sage, chives, fennel, tarragon), ...
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45. as well as many of the flowers we use for the guestrooms and dining table.
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| Ways We Re-Use... |
46. Non-disposable (sanitized) glasses and dishes in the rooms.
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47. Cloth napkins at breakfast.
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48. Re-use plastic grocery bags for shopping and other uses.
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49. Out-of-service linens, pillows, towels go to shelters and other charities.
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50. Pass on egg cartons to rural friends who raise chickens.
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| Ways We Reduce |
51. Purchase large, bulk sizes (flour, oats, rice, etc.) to reduce packaging waste.
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52. Use permanent gold coffee filter instead of disposables.
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53. At breakfast, we serve home-filtered water instead of bottled.
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54. Use local products whenever available results in using less fuel travelling for shopping.
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55. Put out one container or less of trash for the weekly municipal pick up.
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| Ways We Recycle |
56. Recycle at the curb: newspaper and mixed papers, cans, recycle-coded plastics, bottle caps, all jars and non-deposit bottles, corrugated cardboard.
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57. Take non curb-side recyclables to the recycling centre: foam meat trays, milk cartons, plastic bags of any kind (washed), plus all other plastics not permitted in curb-side
collection (cottage cheese container lids, foam cups, plastic pull tabs, non-recycle coded plastics).
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58. Old cell phones, computer peripherals, etc., go to a reputable recycling facility.
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59. Recycle paints, paint thinners, turpentine, etc. at the paint store.
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60. Recycle batteries (including guests’ discarded batteries) at battery recycle centre.
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back to top
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Binners' Bed and Breakfast, 58 Linden Avenue,
Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada,
V8V 4C8
Toll Free 1-888-409-5800 Telephone (250) 383-5442
hosts@binners.com
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