Summer is getting started a bit early in Victoria, as the iconic floral orca display has been erected near the Inner Harbour, downtown.
On the corner of Humboldt and Government Streets, right next to the Empress Hotel, the orca display now stands as a way to welcome visitors and mark the transition from spring to summer.
The sculpture, made up of over 10,000 individual plants, stands over 13 feet tall and is 19 feet long, from tip to tail.
The main body colour of the orcas is from Alternanthera dentata (Purple Knight); the wave is comprised of Festuca glauca (Festina); the orcas’ body markings are a combination of Helichrysum thianschanicum (Icicles), Dichondra argentea (Silver Falls) and Santolina chamaecyparissus; and lastly, the spouts are Nassella tenuissima.
Every plant in this sculpture was grown in the Beacon Hill Nursery, then assembled as per the design of local artist, Sandra Bilawich.
The two orcas and their pedestal weigh over 5,500 kilograms, according to the City of Victoria, and have to be craned in every year.
This year will mark the 15th year the orcas have been erected.
Check out the orcas next time you are in the downtown core!
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