Jean and Estelle Laporte have a real diva on their hands. But the owners of J.A. Laporte Flowers & Nursery in Orléans couldn’t be more excited.
“Isn’t she beautiful? She’s a real showstopper,” says Estelle of the nine-foot tall sculpture towering next to the front entrance of their garden centre off Old Montreal Road.
“She looks like Tina Turner,” quips Jean of the shapely female with tousled tresses, a flowing pink gown and an oversized bouquet trailing off her arm. “Her bangs need a haircut.”
Known simply as “Madame,” the 1.8-tonne babe is a stunning piece of living art called mosaiculture made from 850 annuals and vines that the couple painstakingly attached to a female silhouette made by Quebec artist Daniel Bennett.
‘Madame’ is made of 850 annuals attached to a sculpture of a woman.
For several years, the Laportes had driven by the sculpture displayed in front of another garden centre en route to their cottage in Ripon, Que. Last fall, they built up the nerve to stop and enquire about buying it. The owner said yes.
“You don’t know until you ask,” says a smiling Estelle, still bursting with excitement months after lugging the cumbersome sculpture back to one of their greenhouses, where the couple transformed the “big girl” into a colourful and fanciful goddess.
Step 1: Estelle Laporte attached nylon netting to the sculpture to hold in the soil.
More than 40 hours alone were spent wrapping the sculpture in nylon netting before packing it with soilless mix. Then came the fun part: choosing which flowers to plant for the hair (potato vine), face and hands (creeping thyme), dress (pink begonias) and bouquet (geraniums, lobelia and euphorbia). A ring of tiny yellow flowers called million bells runs around the base of the sculpture.
Step 2: Jean Laporte installs an internal watering system.
“They’re all miniature annuals,” says Jean, who also installed a watering system down the back of the sculpture to keep the mix moist. “They’ll only need a little pruning.”
The “learn-as-you-go” art project was unveiled May 7 in front of the family business. Throughout the day, a steady stream of customers stopped to admire the grand dame. Some snapped photos; others teased the Laportes about having too much free time on their hands.
Step 3: Planting hundreds of tiny flowers and trailing vines to cover the netting.
“We just thought it would be a fun thing to do,” says Jean, whose parents started the nursery in 1960. It is now one of the largest in Eastern Ontario with 17 greenhouses, 200,000 square feet of nursery and more than 2,500 varieties of plants.
To commemorate their 55 years in business, the Laportes are holding a contest to name Madame. “We’d like her name to be bilingual,” says Estelle.
A ballot box will be set next to the sculpture or you can submit suggestions on their Facebook page. The winning name will be announced in June.
If you go
Where: J.A. Laporte Flowers & Nursery, 1121 Old Montreal Rd.
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m; Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Info: 613-833-2316; laportegardens.com
