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Spring
Glory At Canberra's Floriade
Springtime
is heralded by the blooming of flowers, and on the dry, arid continent
of Australia, there is no sight more breathtaking and longed-for
than a field of flowers gladdening the landscape. Throughout the
country, the towns and cities put special effort in creating fantastic
floral displays and festivals, in a exuberant welcome of the
season. One of the most famous floral festivals in the country is
Canberra’s annual spring celebration, the 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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Useful
Info about the Floriade
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17 September to 16 October 2005
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Entry is free
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Monday to Friday: 9 am — 5 pm
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Weekends and Public Holidays: 8 am — 6 pm
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(Last entry to the event is 30 minutes before closing)
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