Let’s count our blooming blessings
Billions of daffodils, crocuses, ornamental cherries, camellias and other spring flowers are waiting to be counted for the annual week-long Victoria Flower Count, which started on Monday and continues until Sunday.
Residents and visitors are encouraged to participate by counting spring blooms on streets and in parks in the region.
This is the 42nd year of the light-hearted promotion, sponsored and organized by Butchart Gardens, the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Victoria.
Last year, after an admittedly warmer winter, Victoria could boast to those living in more frigid areas of the country that the city was covered in almost 26 billion blooms.
“We always enjoy kidding with the rest of Canada, and reminding them that Victoria enjoys the mildest climate in the country,” said Paul Nursey, president and CEO of Tourism Victoria. “It’s fun to celebrate this unique Victoria tradition that dates back to the 1970s.”
Whole communities and children in kindergarten to Grade 6 classes get in on the fun, the former for bragging rights, the latter for the chance to win free admission for the winning class to Butchart Gardens, with transportation provided by L.A. Limousines.
Last year, Colwood was crowned the Bloomingest community for the third year running. Students from École John Stubbs Memorial School in Colwood counted more than 6.7 billion blooms — enlisting family and friends to help count the many blossoms at home or in the gardens of adjacent Royal Roads University.
Schools now account for almost half the flowers counted during the event.
The flower count is part of a strategy to promote off-season travel to the region. It reminds residents and visitors alike that they can engage in outdoor activities while the rest of the country is still covered in snow.
It’s big on social media as well, with #flowercount recording more than 700,000 hits from individuals and businesses from across the country and around the world.
Anybody can participate in the count.
The team at Flower Count headquarters has developed guidelines to help people estimate the number of flowers:
A small heather bush equals 500 blossoms,
A medium heather bush equals 1,000 blossoms,
A large heather bush equals 2,000 blossoms,
A small tree full of blooms equals 250,000 blossoms,
A medium tree full of blooms equals 500,000 blossoms,
A large tree full of blooms equals 750,000 blossoms,
Participants can submit their counts at flowercount.ca.
To follow the conversation on social media, go to facebook.com/ FlowerCount, and @FlowerCount on Twitter and Instagram. Participants are encouraged to use the #flowercount hashtag in posts, tweets and descriptions of photos.