An early spring full of warm weather and sunshine made for a successful Flower Count this year.
Residents of Greater Victoria counted over 17.2 billion blooms from March 5 to 11, compared to last year's 1.4 billion.
The winning community for the second year in a row was Colwood, with Oak Bay and Esquimalt in second and third place respectively.
“Engagement on social media was quite high this year, and there were some really stunning photos of plum and early cherry blossoms put out there,” said Scott McDonald, spokesperson for Butchart Gardens. “People really seemed to be having fun with the count against the backdrop of the warm temperatures and early spring.”
The highest Flower Count was in 2010, when 21 billion blooms were counted