35 Years and Counting for Victoria’s Flowers
February 14th, 2011
2011 marks the 35th anniversary of the Annual Flower Count in Victoria, aptly called the City of Gardens!
The Flower Count takes place March 1 – 7, 2011 and is a friendly competition between the communities that make up Greater Victoria to see which one is the “Bloomingest Community”. The total amount of blossoms are then tallied up and communicated (in a slightly smug way, I might add) to the rest of Canada – who can only dream of counting flowers while they shovel out from yet another blizzard and look forward to a couple more months of winter.
Victoria is blessed to have the mildest climate in all of Canada – spring temperatures average between 10-15 degrees Celsius. This climate lends itself to having some of the most fabulous gardens in Canada – Butchart Gardens of course are famous, but Beacon Hill Park, Abkhazi Gardens, Finnerty Gardens at UVIC and Hatley Gardens are all worth a visit.
There are a number of ways for the public to participate in the Flower Count. You can:
- Count your blossoms and enter the count on the website. www.flowercount.ca
- Attend the Mayors’ Flower Arranging Competition – the Flower Count launch event on March 1st
- Encourage children in grades 4 and 5 to participate in the class room competition
- Enter a flower photo contest on Facebook and Flickr and win great prizes! Access the contest sites through www.flowercount.ca
To find out more – check it out at www.flowercount.ca