The Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) in Burlington is starting off the fall of 2025 fresh and opulent with Downton Abbey by Fleurs de Villes, a florist organization founded by Karen Marshall and Tina Barkley in 2016. On display from September 12, 2025, to September 21, 2025, this unique and short-term exhibition will come and go like the bloom of a rare, elegant flower. People have been travelling from all over the GTA to participate as spectators in this post-Edwardian style garden party.
Visitors can stroll and regard the extravagantly dressed mannequins, snap photos, and lean in to sniff the fragrant roses in every hue. Many who have already visited are devoted fans of the long-running period drama, renowned for its lush and historically accurate costumes. All visitors will enjoy the florists’ work as a well-timed accompaniment to the recently released Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, now playing at local movie theatres. All the fan favourites are awash in floral splendour and attire from the first half of the twentieth century.
The post-Edwardian period and the generations that directly follow it are identified by the stark disparity between the upper and lower classes. When Katherine Mansfield published her famous short story “The Garden Party” in 1922, she exposed this divide for her readers by holding up the profligate lives of the rich against the dark reality of the less fortunate. Fleurs de Villes closes this gap between Downton Abbey’s two sets of characters, the aristocratic Crawleys and the servants who wait on them, by representing all the characters with equal beauty and ingenuity. It’s not just the ones with money who are decked out in stunning flowers. It’s everyone, from upstairs and downstairs.
“When Fleurs de Villes shared the final chosen characters with us, I was really pleased to see that it was both sides of the narrative,” says Jeremy Freiburger, head of cultural program development at the RBG. “It’s super important, if we’re looking back in history. We can tell the story in a bunch of different ways.”
One particular showstopper is the full skirt of lady’s maid Anna Bates, attendant to Lady Mary Crawley, constructed of lisianthus flowers, daisies, scabiosas, tulips, orchids, and white roses. Put together by Ridgeway Florist, this popular underdog character is awarded with an ensemble she couldn’t possibly perform her in-show duties in. But it is lovely, nevertheless.
Fleurs de Villes also strives to capture key moments from the show where characters utilize their fashion sense to assert their identity. Visitors will remember the iconic scene where the free-spirited Lady Sybil Crawley struts out for dinner in turquoise trousers, shocking her conservative family. This feminist moment is recreated by Marianna’s Flower Island and is rendered in carnations, amaranth, hydrangeas, and dahlias.
“We researched the time period where this episode happened, where Sybil came out wearing the pants, because in the show it was a big deal,” says Catyanna Nanda, owner of Marianna’s Flower Island. “It was something that was just starting to happen, and not many women did it. She made a big statement.”
In the TV show, Lady Edith Crawley also shines in a pivotal scene at the Royal Ascot, where, for once, she outperforms her elder sister Mary in a head-turning, powder pink, startlingly feminine gown. This empowering triumph in the war of sister rivalry is brought forward by Lena’s Floral Designs in rosettes, ferns, and hydrangeas.
The late, great Maggie Smith and her celebrated, sharp-tongued character, Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, is brought to life clad in regal purple by Maison de Joezel. She even holds court in her own room, adorned and surrounded by purple carnations, purple statice, and lavender Ocean Song roses. A fitting tribute to a noble lady, both on and off screen. Tickets to see her, her family, and their staff in full bloom are available here.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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