Spring Arrives Early in a City that is Full of Life

Residents of Victoria discover a city that truly becomes "full of life" as flowers bloom in front gardens, back yards and throughout the city parks. Victoria’s annual Flower Count marks the end of winter and the start of an early spring; while residents in most Canadian cities are still under snow in February, Victorians are gardening. The enthusiasm for this tongue-in-cheek promotion is evident in the number of flowers counted - over 3.3 billion blossoms last year - and visitors to Victoria are encouraged to join in the fun.

How does it work?

For one week (February 25-March 2, 2008) citizens of Greater Victoria count all the blossoms they can find. The results are reported to Flower Count Headquarters by online submission at or by telephone at (250) 953-2033 extension 4.

For 32 years, freshly cut daffodils have been sent to media across North America to announce the kick-off of Victoria’s annual Flower Count, with the final tally proudly announced at the end of Flower Count week.

How to count:

Small tree full of blossoms 250,000 blossoms
Medium tree full of blossoms 500,000
Large tree full of blossoms 750,000
Small Heather bush 500
Medium Heather bush 1,000
Large Heather bush 2,000

Banana Belt Challenge

Each community across Greater Victoria is encouraged to take up the challenge to win the “Banana Belt." People reporting flower counts have their tallies attributed to their community, and the municipality that reports the most blossoms is awarded the Banana Belt. Every flower counts, for each community and for the overall total

How many blooms?

In 1976, over 130 million blooms were counted. By 1996, with a growing population and more community participation, that figure rose to over 4 billion (4,220,401,563). 2002 broke all records with an amazing 8.5 billion blooms!

Tourism Victoria would like to thank the following supporters of the 32nd annual Flower Count: