A corner of Glasgowhas a new splash of colour with a crop of giant pink, orange and yellow aluminium flowers with two metre wide petals coming into bloom.

The Cowcaddens area is now home to 50 of the giant colourful sculptures that transform an underpass below the M8 motorway.

The £1.5million project forms a link between the city centre and the neighbourhood on the banks of the Forth and Clyde Canal at Speirs Locks. It is just one element of the Glasgow Canal Regeneration Partnership's regeneration plans for the key hubs on the Glasgow branch of the Forth and Clyde Canal.

The seven month long Phoenix Flowers project was formally opened by Stewart Stevenson MSP, The Scottish Government's Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change.

He said: "The Phoenix Flowers Project creates a vibrant gateway between the Glasgow City Centre, the north of the city and the Forth and Clyde Canal and I'm delighted to have been able to open it today.

"This project represents a key milestone in the overall regeneration of the north of the city, and credit must go to the businesses, community groups, residents and schools who have all played an important part in this work.

"The redevelopment of Speirs Wharf has helped attract new businesses and organisations to the area, a welcome boost in these challenging economic times."

Steve Dunlop, Scottish director of British Waterways said: "The Phoenix Flowers project has already become a major talking point with Glaswegians and creates new interest in an area of Glasgow that has been neglected for many years. 

"They will create a vibrant link from the new and blossoming centre for creative and cultural industries at Speirs Locks to the city centre and we hope in time, they will continue through Speirs Locks and along the canalside."

Bailie Liz Cameron, executive member for development and regeneration at Glasgow City Council said: "The Phoenix Flowers are already a landmark in the city and another sign of the new life rising up around Speirs Locks, another part of Glasgow that is witnessing successful regeneration. 

"The fact that so many organisations are investing in the area underlines the bright future of Speirs Locks and indeed the whole canal corridor from the city centre out to Maryhill."

The Phoenix Flowers are the latest phase in an ongoing project of landscaping being undertaken around Cowcaddens Subway station. The decision to develop the idea followed a consultation exercise when it was determined that access between the canal side and the city centre required to be improved.