A few days ago, I wrote about the "rival" out of Canberra flower show in Tulip Top. Well... I'm not entirely sure which came first... but today, I visited the more mainstream flower show of Floriade. Floriade is put on every year by the ACT Government, and it is a really large event spanning several weeks... and it is full of shops, entertainment... and flowers.
For the past month or longer, you would be hard pressed to miss the various Floriade wheelbarrows that adorn the city walks and streets advertising the Floriade festival. I'm not really sure that they need to do quite so much... Floriade really is a well known event in Canberra!
It is distinctly different in style and atmosphere to the Tulip Top show... Tulip Top is definitely more about the flowers, and it is targeting a really different audience of flower and plant lovers. Meanwhile, Floriade is designed more as a family and community event and festival. The flowers are the draw card, but the idea is to have a day out... with live entertainment from the community, and food from the various food stalls, and perhaps look into some of the little markets and stands that have set up around the Commonwealth Park.
So, the real reason that I was around... yes... providing entertainment! Thankfully, that was something that I was partly decent at... growing flowers, not so much... but I'm learning!
At this late stage of the festival, there were many tulips that had already been decapitated as their flowers died away. However, in the back areas and near the entrance, you could still see large beds of blooming and vibrant tulips. I suspect that there is a large groundkeeping staff to keep the place looking spick and span, and removing all the weeds and debris. I can't imagine how this path manages to otherwise look so good after the heavy rain and warm heat that seems to result in weeds everywhere else!
So, as I said... it isn't JUST about the flowers! But even still... I was a bit surprised to see a Ferris wheel and number of carnival rides and games!
Lots of artwork and stalls to promote local artists and produce makers... I am sort of partial to this sculpture of a piano that houses flowers. However, I\m not sure how it would end up looking in a garden... especially when the insides aren't so well kempt!
