The recent springlike weather has been a welcome bonus for members of the Oak Bay Garden Club.
The club meets every third Wednesday of the month (except July and August) at the Monterey Recreation Centre.
“It’s just a way to enjoy gardening,” said Rosemary Pollard, a programmer with the club. “It’s to help people who have gardens or balconies get interested in growing flowers and vegetables.”
Budding gardeners can get plenty of ideas during the Victoria Flower Count from March 5 to 11.
During the week, community members from all 13 Greater Victoria municipalities are invited to count flowers and will have their numbers attributed to their community specifically as well as to the overall total.
While the Oak Bay Garden Club doesn’t take part in the flower count, Pollard said spotting flowers shouldn’t be a problem for participants in Oak Bay.
“So many people have gardens. It’s such a perfect climate for growing,” she said, adding flowers can be seen along the boulevards and in gardens found on just about every street.
“There’s crocus and daffodils and cherry blossoms now.”
Last year, more than 1.3 billion flowers were counted. The record number of blooms counted was in 2010 at 21 billion flowers.
For more information, and a guide on how to count blossoms, go online to flowercount.com.
For those thinking of starting their own gardens, the garden club will have a table set up at Saturday’s rummage sale at the Monterey Centre from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.