CROCUS MONUMENT
Facts / History
Arden's Crocus Monument is a project of the
Lansdowne Heritage
Resources and Tourism Committee. The all-steel replica was fabricated
by local welder, Dennis Gagnon. To our knowledge, it is the first
large-scale replica of Manitoba's floral emblem. Each of the three
blossoms is approximately five feet wide and nine feet tall. Total
weight is estimated at 2,000 pounds. The blossoms are painted with a
custom-colored automotive paint and clear-coated. The supporting back
wall of the monument is constructed of special, century-old concrete
blocks which were poured on site by pioneers for home and office
construction. Several such buildings still stand in the area, although
they now are rare in Manitoba.
The story of Manitoba's floral emblem can
be traced to the early 1900s.
The Manitoba Horticultural Society nominated three flowers as
candidates for an official floral emblem. The three species, all native
to Manitoba, included:
The Prairie Crocus
The Prairie Lily
The Wild Rose.
Manitoba school children voted, placing the
Prairie Crocus, 1st; the
Prairie Lily, 2nd; Wild Rose, 3rd. On March 16, 1906, the Prairie
Crocus was given Royal Assent and officially adopted as
Manitoba’s
floral emblem. The declaration was: “The flower known botanically
as anemone patens, and popularly called the Crocus shall be
adopted as and deemed to be the floral emblem of the Province of
Manitoba.” |
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