Episode: #13 9/12/06
Presenter: Fiona Bruyn

If you have a passion for flowers and plants there is one place you must visit each year. Floriade in Canberra is a garden lover?s dream destination and people travel from all over Australia and overseas to see the wonderful floral and garden displays.

The word Floriade comes from the Latin word ?floriat? which means to design with flowers and the name was inspired by other flower festivals held in the Netherlands.

In Australia it all began in 1988 and it was the perfect way to celebrate Canberra?s 75^th birthday and Australia?s bicentenary.

As you can imagine bulbs and annuals are in abundance, 1 million of them in fact. It takes plenty of planning to ensure that all of the beautiful flowers are at their peak for the month long festival.

It is not only fields of tulips you will see at Floriade, there is a big mix of flowers and colours. Something for everyone including irises, daffodils, hyacinths and violas to name a few.

It is also a good time to check out the new release varieties because they are also on display.

Floriade is different each year, a good reason to go again and again. Each year a theme is created and carried through the event from the shape of the garden beds to the entertainment and many activities on offer.

Planning for the event begins in April, 18 months prior to the festival. First a theme is chosen and it is developed for the following year.

Leading up to the event, the designers do their thing and choose plants and materials and orders are then placed.

Gardeners can then begin to mark out beds and install watering systems and drainage and pathways to guide visitors through the displays.

An unbelievable 3000 m cubed of soil is moved and sculpted to create the display beds and it takes 7 weeks and 10 men to do the work.

In September the park and Floriade in the heart of the city is open to the public for free! During this time the gardeners are kept on their toes making sure everything is perfect.

None of the flowers go to waste either, the remaining flowers are sent to hospitals and nursing homes so that people who don?t get a chance to visit the park can enjoy some of Floriade?s beauty.

It is a huge event and the whole city buzzes with Floriade fever.

There is so much for the whole family to do and see including activities for the kids, workshops, demonstrations and seminars.

Cross out at least a few days on next years calendar from September to October as Floriade in Canberra is a must see event.

Floriade Canberra
http://www.floriadeaustralia.com

Canberra and Region Visitors Centre

330 Northbourne Avenue
Dickson ACT 2602

Ph: 1300 554 114
Fax: 02 6205 0776
Email: crvc@act.gov.au