Victoria's teacup tree brimming with beauty — and inspiration — in spring

In the spring, Victoria is famous for the blossoms that burst into colour along city streets.

However, one tree that attracts the attention of both visitors and residents has more than just the bloom of pink petals on display.

In the historic James Bay neighbourhood, teacups, even a teapot, hang from the branches of a plum tree on Clarence Street.

Rory Palmer started hanging cups on branches of the tree outside his home a dozen years ago when his wife Nairn Wilson was coping with a breast cancer diagnosis and they needed a positive, creative outlet.

But the tree was also a way for Palmer to honour his late grandmother, Eleanor Palmer, a local teacher and passionate traveller.

"Well, as anybody who has old grannies, you know, in the day, what did they do? They pull out the good china, and they have tea parties with all their friends.

"And, you know, that's my grandmother. She was a social butterfly. She was a member of all these different clubs, and she'd have these parties."

Eleanor Palmer not only visited places like Fiji and China in the 1930s, a time when women did not usually travel alone. She was also a teacher at a Central Middle School in Victoria, remembered for her tireless work with boys who were struggling.  

'Social butterfly' who loved tea parties

Lynn Moorehouse remembers well Eleanor Palmer's legacy of teaching and the stories of her travel through China.

She had Palmer as an art teacher in Grade 8. 

"She told stories of the river pirates on the Yangtze and the work she'd done. So I promised myself one day that I would go on the Yangtze."

A retired teacher and principal herself, Moorehouse is on the board of artsREACH, an organization that supports vulnerable children in Greater Victoria.

A placard next to the tree bears a QR code linking to the artsREACH website and encourages donations to "Granny Palmer's Favourite Children's Charity." It's Rory's way of honouring the work his grandmother did with local students.

Moorehouse celebrates the love that has passed from Eleanor to her grandson and also to the community at large.

"That love is not just immediate to those children, but what it does for those children, as it did for Rory. Because he loved that woman. She was elegant and sophisticated. She was articulate. She was poignant."

Tree adorned with teacups cheers up local community

Over time the so-called teacup tree has come to be celebrated by the local community and travellers.

David Paul is a resident who walks past most days, and he describes the teacups nestled in blossoms as a "little moment of beautiful chaos."

He says he can't choose a favourite from the menagerie of striped and gold-rimmed cups.

"I pick a different one every time I walk by. That's part of the charm."

Rory agrees the best time of year to enjoy the teacup tree is in the spring.

"It's just beautiful because you look at the pink blossoms and get all the beautiful teacups. There's a million different colours. You have different patterns."

Sometimes Rory will just stand at a distance along the sidewalk and watch people approach the tree for the first time.

"It seems to make everybody happy, you know. That's not really how it started out. It was for us. But if everybody else loves it, great."