The Floriade

very big beds of tulips at Floriade Annual Flower Festival
Photographer: Trevor Creighton

What is Floriade?
Floriade is Canberra’s annual spring splash of colour – a flower festival with more than 1.47 million flowers that bloom on cue for four weeks in September and October.

To compliment the flowers, the event also includes a full entertainment program with visiting and local performers, kids activities, workshops, exhibitions and the Craftman’s Corner featuring Australian made gifts, crafts and produce.

It all began in 1986 as a vision for the 1988 bicentenary and Canberra’s 75th birthday when two members of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service envisaged a huge floral display for the celebration. Their inspiration was the annual Dutch Keukenhof flower display and Holland’s Floriade which happens every 10 years. Floriade is now the largest event of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

The meaning behind the name
The name, Floriade, comes from the Latin word “floriat”, which means to design with flowers. This is exactly what happens every year at Floriade.

How many flowers?
This year more than 1.47 million bulbs and annuals will bloom at Floriade, 200,000 more than last year. The bulbs and annuals are planted in autumn. Different flowers bloom at different times but there’s always a good spread of colour throughout the event. It is constantly changing as different plants flower, so it is a good idea to visit a few times if you can.

What sort of flowers?
There’s a big mix of flowers and a huge kaleidoscope of colours. Some of the blooms this year include tulips, irises, daffodils, hyacinths, freesias, violas, chrysanthemums, ranunculas, English daisies and a special showcase garden of new varieties.

How is it designed?
Floriade is different every year and has a theme that is carried through from the shape of the garden beds to the type and colour of the flowers.
This year’s theme is Rock ‘n’ Roll in Bloom. Floriade will celebrate a lifetime of popular music, from the 40s through to today, with classic tracks represented in flowers. Canberra landscape architects, LANDSCAPEalign, have created the design for Floriade this year.

How many people visit?
Floriade has become more and more popular over time and over 300,000 people visit the event each year during the four-week period.

When is Floriade?
This year Floriade is on from Saturday 17 September to Sunday 16 October. Opening hours are from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to 6pm on weekends and public holidays. Last entry to the event is 30 minutes before closing.

Where is it held?
Commonwealth Park in the heart of Canberra is transformed for Floriade every year. The Floriade gardens cover about four hectares, the size of two football fields, and are spread throughout the park.

(Source: Floriade)