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Spring Glory At Canberra's Floriade
History of the Floriade Set in Canberra's Commonwealth Park, on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin, the Floriade festival takes place every September to October, and is the first major event of the year’s warm months. When the winter cool begins to fade and the spring rains patter down, the park’s carefully tended earth beds break into a riot of colours, as clouds of annual burst into bloom and visitors crowd the pathways to admire the beauty and relax. The inspiration behind the event was Holland’s Floriade celebration, which takes place once every 10 years. The Australian Floriade was originally intended to be a one-off event, as a charming floral display to complement Canberra’s 1988 bicentary and 75th birthday celebration. It overwhelming success led to a repeat the next year, and the next, until it has become an annual and much-loved event. Today, Canberra’s event has become the biggest flower festival in the southern hemisphere, regularly drawing over 300,000 visitors, many of the out of state and international visitors. Flowers, Flowers Everywhere Their long journey is rarely ends in disappointment, for the flower beds are breathtaking. There’s everything from dark Queen of the Night tulips to bright yellow dandelions and deep red roses in the show, and every year new varieties are displayed in special beds. Each year, the design of the flower beds revolves around a new theme and in 2005, the theme will be Rock ‘n’ Roll in Bloom, in a tribute to the colour and exuberance of music in the past few decades. There will even be floral representations of some of the world's most iconic songs, from John Lennon’s classic Strawberry Fields to the Stone’s Paint it Black. Planting the bulbs themselves is a colossal undertaking, simply because of the sheer numbers: for this year’s Floriade, more than 1.7 million bulbs were planted — that’s about 5 bulbs for every resident in Canberra! All this beauty is thanks to two tireless teams of gardeners, who work from the time the previous year’s Floriade is over to create the wonders that will go on display in the next year’s show. They have their work cut out for them: to plant the many designs, the gardeners have to be divided into two teams, who work inward from opposite ends of the park; Commonwealth Park is so vast it takes almost seven weeks for the teams to meet in the middle! More Than Just Flowers The floral displays are undoubtedly one of the biggest attractions of the event, but there are also a wide variety of other draws, particularly in the Floriade Village, where everything from pressed flowers to hand-made toys and baked cookies is on offer, with concerts and wandering musicians adding their musical accompaniment to the whole affair. There’s also the Children’s Village, where there’s always something going on to interest the kids, as well as an Exhibition Marquee, where competitions, demonstrations and other interesting displays take place. Floriade goes on for 30 fun-filled days, and each day brings something new. Though the flowers all bloom within the same month, not everything blooms together — one species might bloom the first week, another the next, so it’s a good idea to come back a few times, to appreciate the full beauty on show. Even when the Floriade is over, the blooms continue to give delight and pleasure. After the event is finished, the gardeners cut the remaining flowers and distribute the fragrant and colourful bundles to nursing homes and hospital in the city, gladdening everyone’s heart.
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