Floriade plants a diversity of bulbs this fall

Autumn is here: the time to plant flower bulbs, including at Floriade. Over the past two years, thousands of trees, plants and shrubs have already been planted on the 60-hectare Floriade grounds. From early October until the end of this year, that will be supplemented with flower bulbs. All bulbs will be planted by hand. To ensure great diversity, landscape architect Niek Roozen developed the flower bulb master plan in collaboration with planting expert Jacqueline van der Kloet. This makes Floriade Expo 2022 a calling card for the flower bulb industry.

In the Ecodistrict on the south side of the Floriade grounds, where one of the entrances to the Expo will be located, 30,000 organic tulip bulbs will be planted. These bulbs come from Tulipsgreen, an organic tulip bulb grower from the Northeast Polder who is committed to working only with natural pesticides. This coming spring, the various tulip varieties will festively color the entrance area. As you walk into the park from the west entrance area, you can't miss the allee zone. This zone will be filled with bulbs in 18 different color combinations inspired by the colors of the rainbow. These bulbs come from bulb growers affiliated with KAVB circle Flevoland.

Flower bulbs from unusual companies

Another company providing flower bulbs for Floriade is Jan de Wit en Zonen. This North Holland-based flower bulb company will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2022, and is therefore filling one hundred Floriade flower beds with one hundred different varieties of tulips that bloom in April and May. The company has also participated in the six previous editions of Floriade and they are very enthusiastic about their participation. Jan de Wit: "For a company that focuses on exporting around the world like ours, this is a great platform. It's a world expo in our own country!'

During the first Floriade in Rotterdam in 1960, Jan de Wit and Sons met their first Japanese relation. This was the starting point for the export of their flower bulbs to the Asian market. By the way, the Japanese relation is still a good customer of Jan de Wit en Zonen. And during the second Floriade in Amsterdam in 1972, grandfather de Wit, the founder of the company, received the main prize for the best tulip entry from the hands of Queen Juliana. 'He was extremely proud of that,' says Jan de Wit.

Green at the promenade

The green strips of the boulevard, which with its 3-kilometer length frames the Floriade Park, are supplemented with white bulbous flowers. These bulbous flowers have been specifically selected to attract bees. Bees are important to our health. They participate in the reproduction, growth and quality of plants, trees, vegetables and fruits. Along the boulevard you will find bulbous plants such as hyacinths and daffodils. When Floriade opens on April 14, 2022, the flowering season of the various bulbous plants will start in the boulevard's green spaces.

Involvement from green schools

Students from various green courses will play a role in planting the flower bulbs in the coming months. This includes students of the mbo study Garden, Park and Landscape of the Clusius College in Hoorn. Theo Luijendijk, one of the teachers who supervises the students: "Practical experience in which you can literally get to work with your profession is very important to us. For example, exams are often taken on location. And Floriade is about a world horticultural exhibition. If you can offer students the opportunity to lend a small hand in such a world project, that's great!'

The theme of Floriade Expo 2022, Growing Green Cities, also appeals to Theo: "We have been calling it out for years, but there is now an increasing focus on green in the city. Roof and facade greening has been an elective within our program for three years. Green is important for biodiversity, water retention and bringing down the temperature in the city. Moreover, it has a beneficial effect on mental health.'

Flower bulbs in the arboretum

The Floriade grounds are divided into 192 rectangular plots designed by architect and urban planner Winy Maas. Around each "plot," on which national and international participants showcase their latest green solutions, a 4-meter green strip has been laid out. The botanical name of all the greenery within such a strip starts with the same letter. The alphabetically organized green library, the arboretum, will remain in place after Floriade Expo 2022 and form the structure for the future new Hortus district.

Considering the long-term goal of the arboretum, the flower bulb master plan chose to plant 250,000 naturalizing bulbs here. These not only bloom every year, but they also propagate themselves. The companies C.S. Weijers, JUB Holland, Lubbe Lisse and René Zijerveld from the Bulb Region are involved in this project. Bulb flowers you will see in the arboretum include Alliums, Indian flowers, Snow flower, Crocosmia, Fritillaria aka Emperor's crown, lilies and blue grapes. Floriade Expo 2022 will be a colorful attraction with the addition of all these bloomers.