Skip to content

Colwood blooms brightly in Victoria Flower Count

School children help West Shore city take annual Bloomingest Community honours
Flower Count 2014 1
Tourism industry officials help announce the grand total of nearly 1.4 billion blooms tallied in the annual Victoria Flower Count. Dressed like 'typical' area residents ready for golfing

The pride of Colwood is in full bloom as the city revels in its title of the Bloomingest Community in Greater Victoria.

The announcement came at the end of the 38th Annual Flower Count. When all the tallies were in, Colwood came out on top with a total of more than one billion blooms.

“The annual flower count is a fantastic way to highlight the beautiful setting we live in,” Mayor Carol Hamilton said in a press release. “Colwood residents love their gardens, and we’re fortunate to be home to many beautiful parks.”

The City of Victoria took second place in the count and the District of Saanich placed third.

In all, Greater Victoria residents counted more than 1.3 billion blooms, surpassing last year’s tally of about three quarters of a billion.

John Stubbs Memorial School in Colwood made the community a double winner, taking first in the school competition. Lukas Laurie’s Grade 5 French immersion class counted flowers at Royal Roads University with the use of spread sheets and the help of family and friends.

“While we talk about this being a light-hearted promotion, the message to much of Canada and the United States is clear: We are Canada’s tropics in the winter,” said chief count organizer Graham Bell of Butchart Gardens. “We count flowers at this time of year because we can. We can also garden, golf, kayak, hike, cycle, fish, bird watch and even scuba dive.”

news@goldstreamgazette.com