Magnificent mosaic accentuates the Island's entrance

Vividly colourful, dazzling in its array of designs and selection of flowers used, it's a bright and cheerful welcome to the Island and a reminder to visitors and residents alike that summer in all its beauty is here.

"We start planning the initial layout and design in the winter," explains Yvon Pagé, foreman for the Verdun Public Works department.

"We present one or two potential layout designs to council members and the decision is made in caucus."

This year's theme, in keeping with the tradition of emphasizing what is most dear to Island residents, showcases birds (the Island is a renowned wild bird sanctuary), flowers and the St. Lawrence River that surrounds L'Ile-des-Soeurs.

"More than 2,500 flowers were used for the design, among them several species of plants, i.e. begonias, alternanthera, santolina, festucca, and many more," states Mr. Pagé. "It took my team of five workers approximately 120 hours of work to plant everything, and throughout the summer, another five hours of maintenance work takes place every week.

"In order to reproduce the vivid blue of the river, showcased in the bottom right of the mosaic, special glass chips were used instead of flowers. "Mr. Pagé decided to use glass chips because the colour would be more vibrant," reveals Francine Morin, communications agent for the Verdun borough.

In keeping with the borough's philosophy to promote environmentally friendly solutions and projects, only ecological fertilizers were used for the mosaic.

You can hear the pride in Mr. Pagé's voice when he refers to this mosaic as a "real beauty". The theme is similar to the one at the Island's entrance, but is much larger in scale since space was not a problem in this specific area.

Aside from Yvon Pagé, the other horticultural borough employees involved in these beautiful creations are Marcel Groulx, chief gardener, Michel Trottier, who drew the layout, Hélène Laliberté and Mélanie Brabant. The same five people are responsible for both beautiful floral mosaics.

Despite the incredible amount of time, hard work and planning that goes into floral creations such as these, all the flowers are perennials and as such are destined to die when the first frost hits the ground. With a little luck, they will be around until October, so don't take these mosaics for granted because, before you know it, summer will be gone. The next time you drive or cycle by the Island's entrance or happen to be near Champlain and 4th Avenue take a moment to admire the beautiful results. None of it happened by accident…