One Saturday last month, the headline on the front page of the Vancouver Sun announced "No native B.C. flowers in Olympic bouquet."
Hello! The Olympics started yesterday and, to my knowledge, even in balmy B.C., there aren't any native flowers blooming in mid-February. And most native flowers are protected anyway. Native dogwood? Protected. Camus? Protected.
Flowers such as B.C.'s native rose, lupin or bleeding heart, if at all possible to secure in adequate quantities, last out of water only about the time it takes to sing the opening bars of O Canada. The bouquets are made 24 hours in advance and must be rugged enough to take plenty of handling. They also have to be as uniform as nature (and man) can create.
The search for the most suitable florals to be used for the 1,800 bouquets has been a two-year journey for Margitta Schulz, owner of Margitta's Flower Boutique in North Vancouver, and June Strandberg of Just Beginnings in Surrey. Although the original mandate was to design a very "local" bouquet in the colours of the Olympic rings, the final design, which contains green spider chrysanthemums, hypericum berries, aspidistra leaves, leather leaf and monkey grass, took 23 tries before the selection committee gave the go-ahead.
There are many pieces of a puzzle for a professional florist to solve for this kind of contract.
Budget is a major factor. Schulz says VANOC was a "frugal" client and, while paying a design/consulting fee to Schulz and Strandberg, insisted on wholesale prices.
Availability of a sturdy product that can withstand being out of water for an extended period is no small problem to solve. Quik Farms of Chilliwack was contracted to grow the almost 10,000 required spider mums. The rest of the components of the bouquet are imported from Ecuador.
All growers had to be approved by VANOC, and each had to provide proof of sustainable growing practices and fair working conditions.
And then there's the design esthetic. The bouquet must be attractive, whether one is looking down on it or looking up at it. The public most often sees the bouquets being held high in the air as opposed to being held like a bridal bouquet. Schulz wanted to create a bouquet that didn't require cellophane wrap to prop it up. The folded aspidistra leaves form a firm collar around the rest of the botanicals.
But working with a natural product can be iffy. After visiting the Chilliwack farm last week, Schulz said she wished that the weather was a little warmer. The mums looked just a little small yet. Will all the import flowers make it to Vancouver in good shape?
Delivery of the bouquets is another of the piece of the puzzle. VANOC has required that five drivers be available. All or some may be used at any given time. All drivers had to be accredited. The bouquets for each day's events are to loaded into vehicles and the vehicles driven to a checkpoint for a 2:30 a.m inspection. The vehicle is then sealed and the driver given a time when the bouquets can arrive at a specific venue. The vehicle is then unsealed and the bouquets are off-loaded into the venue.
-- Canwest News Service
