Industry members and Floriade organizers alike are getting geared up for Floriade 2002, which promises to deliver on three themes: colour, sustainability and international interest.

     Held every 10 years in the Netherlands, Floriade will showcase every aspect of Dutch horticulture, from vegetable and fruit production, bulbs, flowers and plants to trees, bushes and shrubs. The 65-hectare park in Haarlemmersmeer will provide room for over 300 displays and presentations of colouful annuals, perennials and bulbs. 35 to 40 changing indoor exhibits, requiring a sheltered environment with controlled climate, will cover a range of themes, including bulbs, shrubs, glasshouse vegetables and tropical plants.

     How we interact with the environment and how we see our role in the natural world is another continuing theme, mirrored effectively in the design of the garden plots, with representation from public sector bodies, businesses and sponsors. Overseeing the exhibition, Big Spotters’ Hill, a pyramid of 500,000 cubic metres of sand, will be the location to showcase a work of art by Auke De Vries.

     Indicating a truly international event, Floriade and its international exhibits from Asia, Africa, the U.S. and Europe, is expected to attract visitors from as far away as Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Colombia, Chile, India, China, Pakistan and Japan, to name a few.

     Floriade 2002 will be held April 6 to October 20, 2002. For information, visit www.floriade.com.