Maintaining manicured lawns, hundreds of begonias, fountains and a tennis court at Canada's diplomatic properties in Rome is necessary to protect the country's “representational image,” according to the Department of Foreign Affairs.The department has issued a contracting notice seeking full-time gardening and landscaping services for the Canadian Embassy and Villa Grandi, the luxury estate serving as the ambassador's official residence.“The objective of this requirement is to provide landscaping and grounds maintenance services without interruption at the official residence and Chancery grounds in Rome as per industry standards and best practices, thus maintaining the appearance and health of the grounds and the representational image of Canada in Italy,” diplomats wrote.Blacklock's Reporter said the government did not disclose a budget for the contract. Similar landscaping expenses have previously cost taxpayers as much as $500,000 annually.The 54-page Landscaping And Grounds Maintenance Services To The Embassy Of Canada notice lays out detailed requirements that contractors “must be followed” while meeting “minimum standards of professional workmanship for grounds and horticultural maintenance.”Nearly four acres of lawns, flower beds, fruit trees and shrubs surround the ambassador's residence at Via Porta Latina 111. The nearby Canadian Embassy at Via Salaria 243 has another acre of grass and flower beds.Contractors must prune shrubs and weed flower beds every two weeks.Hedges are to be trimmed “every 40 to 50 days as required adjusted per growth rate” to “maintain straight, uniform faces and tops,” according to the notice.Gardeners will also be responsible for “daily patrol cleaning” of the properties to remove leaves from pathways and deal with “unsightly measures” including fallen branches.About 800 potted begonias require ongoing attention, with contractors instructed to care for them while “taking into account current and anticipated climate change impacts on plant viability.”The diplomatic properties' decorative fountains must also receive regular attention.“The contractor must clean and maintain all decorative fountains on a weekly basis to ensure continuous water clarity, proper pump performance and compliance with hygiene and operational standards,” wrote the department..The ambassador's tennis court is also included in the maintenance contract.“Maintain the tennis court in a clean and safe condition including the removal of leaves, debris and dirt as required,” said the notice. “Ensure that the court surface, lines and playing areas remain free of obstruction.”The former Conservative government proposed selling the Italian estate in 2013 as part of a federal austerity program. The proposed sale was later halted following the Liberals' 2015 election victory.Federal records at the time showed taxpayers owned or leased 2,296 diplomatic properties worldwide with a combined value of $3 billion.The portfolio included a mansion in Oslo staffed by two housemaids and a cook that cost US$1,700 a month to heat, five residences in Brussels and the former Canadian High Commission property in London that sold for $530 million.
