Flower power: ‘Get your nose in there’
Fragrant hyacinths have been planted along with multi-headed yellow daffodils with a scent
Gardener Laura Principe says don’t waste any time, people: Get down as fast as you can to Davie and Denman to smell the flowers.
In addition to fragrant hyacinths, there are some new and unusual additions to the colourful flower beds by English Bay: multi-headed yellow daffodils with a scent. They’re so fragrant, they fill the air with a sweet perfume you can smell just walking or cycling by.
“The little, multi-flowered daffodils, they’re very fragrant,” she said.
“They’re going to be done in a couple of weeks, so get your nose in there.”
For the past four years, Principe has been the gardener responsible for some of the highest profile and most visited flower beds in Vancouver along English Bay from the Park Board office near Stanley Park to the aquatic centre.
Bigger, splashier gardens such as Queen Elizabeth Park, VanDusen Botanical Garden and the gardens in Stanley Park are more likely to make it onto official travel lists as the city’s top gardens. And they certainly
are spectacular. But in terms of sheer numbers of people who see planted floral gardens in Vancouver, the flower beds around Davie and Denman have to rank near the top. They’re also situated in an incredibly scenic and photogenic spot by the beach and ocean.
Principe divides the area into the
flower beds in Morton Park — the triangle of land with the 14 bronze sculptures of the Laughing Men — the flagpole beds in the adjacent triangle of land across Davie, the sundial beds, the raised, narrow beds behind the wooden benches facing English Bay, and the bathhouse beds to the southeast.
As the gardener, she chooses the variety and colour of flowers and decides where they’re planted. She gets her hands dirty, too, by planting most of the flowers and bulbs herself with the help of an assistant.
“Typically, what the gardener will do is get a little idea about a particular colour or a palette or plant that’s a favourite that they want to try out,” Principe said.
“They build their colour selection and plant selection around that.”
This year, Principe took in the view from above when planning her design. She was thinking how the flower beds are seen by people living in the nearby towers. So she planted a mix of yellow and purple flowers in swirls in the flagpole beds.
Principe said there are 6,300 daffodil bulbs alone in the flagpole and sundial beds.
This is Principe’s last spring in charge of the flowers along English Bay. She’s now at VanDusen, which is holding its big annual plant sale on Sunday.
For next year, she’s already chosen the colours — dark, purple brown, dark purple, pink, creamy yellow — but left the layout to the gardener who follows her.
Principe said she’ll occasionally come down to the beds to find that they look like someone has fallen in and rolled around. During the annual Celebration of Light fireworks, fencing surrounds all the flower beds.
Generally, though, she’s impressed with how people respect public flowers and plants.
“When I came down one Saturday night and I saw how many people are squeezing by on those small little sidewalks at the corner of Denman and Davie, I thought, ‘You know, if someone every so often loses their balance and falls into the beds, that’s understandable,’ ” she said.
“I have to say that I’m impressed with how little damage happens with the flower beds. I do think people respect the plants a lot.”