A Victoria councillor is making a play to restore the city’s iconic hanging flower baskets to their full glory.
Coun. Marg Gardiner will once again bring forward a motion this Thursday aimed at restoring the full scope of the city’s long-running basket program, just weeks after council voted to cut it in half as part of early 2026 budget reductions.
Gardiner had previously put forward the motion at the council meeting Nov. 20, but council delayed discussion on it until this Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.
On Nov. 7, council approved reducing the annual program from roughly 1,200 baskets to 600 and limiting them to high-tourism areas, west of Douglas Street.
The decision immediately sparked pushback from residents, businesses and organizations who consider the baskets part of Victoria’s identity.
A graphic shows areas cut from the hanging flower basket program in red, which one city councillor is looking to restore via public funding. (City of Victoria)
“Hanging flower baskets are special, they are part of Victoria,” wrote Gardiner in the motion, adding they represent a shared sense of place for locals and visitors to a place once called the “city of gardens.”
Since the cut, she said councillors have been flooded with emails urging council to rethink the move.
“Judy, a resident, suggested that the City develop a sponsor or contribution program to bring back the baskets to the areas targeted to no longer have hanging baskets,” wrote Gardiner. “Judy’s suggestion was the impetus for my November 20th motion.”
She added that since the original motion was tabled and delayed, Destination Greater Victoria has stepped forward offering to help coordinate a community-funded model and contribute financially.
Several businesses and organizations have also expressed interest in supporting the program.
Gardiner said this approach would allow residents and businesses to “go forward on a project together” to maintain the long-established basket boundaries, rather than shrinking them.
She noted the motion is time-sensitive as staff have warned that expanding the program after January would mean buying plants instead of growing them in city greenhouses, driving costs up.
Council will debate the proposal at its final Committee of the Whole meeting of 2025, scheduled for Dec. 11.
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