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Together with live trees and plants, cut flowers are one of the Netherlands’ top 10 exports. And the small country is responsible for more than 40% of the global trade in flowers and floral products. It’s no wonder the country celebrates all things floral during the annual Bloemencorso Bollenstreek. The 71st flower parade of the Bollenstreek (bulb region) takes place this month in towns and communities from Noordwijkerhout to Lisse to Haarlem in southwestern Holland.
Launched after World War II to raise people’s spirits, the Dutch flower parades have bloomed into large-scale productions with some of the most incredible flower sculptures we have ever seen. The first flower parade of the Bollenstreek took place in 1947, thanks to amaryllis grower Willem Warmenhoven who created a whale out of hyacinths.
Spring makes an ideal time to ruminate on the beauty of flowers and the amazing possibilities they offer for décor. But the Bloemencorso Bollenstreek is not your only opportunity to can catch a flower parade in the Netherlands. In August, the Corso Vollenhove puts the focus on dahlia flowers with floats made from up to 250,000 blooms each.
And the world’s largest flower parade, Bloemencorso Zundert, takes place each September. This parade also features dahlia-covered floats, and volunteers work for months to bring them to life. In all, the parade uses about 8 million flowers.
The tradition of celebrating the beauty of flowers and local blooms exists in the United States too. In Washington, DC, the city commemorates the gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the mayor of Tokyo in 1912 with the National Cherry Blossom Festival each spring. Today, the festival welcomes more than 1.5 million people to enjoy the beauty of the thousands of cherry blossom trees in peak bloom.
In Atlanta, we recognize spring with the annual Atlanta Dogwood Festival, which started in 1936 as a fun event to bring people out of the doldrums of the Depression. When delicate white and pink dogwood blossoms begin popping up all over town, we know it’s time to welcome warm weather and kick back in Piedmont Park.
We recently combined two of our favorite things when WM Events provided tablescapes and florals for a dinner from the High Museum of Art’s Wine Auction. Pairing deep purple blooms and bright pink tulips with luscious white hydrangeas atop verdant table runners proved the perfect complement to the range of excellent wines served at the intimate dinner for 24 guests.
What’s your favorite bloom this spring?
