Boston Flora

Tag: Floriade

  • Thursday, August 25 – Sunday, September 4 – The Gardens of the Netherlands and Floriade Expo

    The American Horticultural Society is offering a newly-scheduled excursion to the Netherlands August 25 – September 4 with hosts Jane and George Diamantis. From French-influenced formal to the Dutch Wave, we will explore a range of garden styles, complemented by a timeless landscape that echoes the paintings of the Old Masters. In addition to admiring glorious gardens, we include a focus on the art and architecture of Amsterdam and smaller historic towns and villages, such as the enchanting city of Groningen. While in Amsterdam, we’ll enjoy a once-in-every-10-year opportunity to experience the famous Floriade Expo, an International Horticultural Exhibition! Luxury accommodations for this program offer a unique blend of historic charm and contemporary comforts. The Hotel Prinsenhof, a stylish city-center hotel with its own formal garden, will be our home base in Groningen. In Brummen, we will find ourselves in a grand country castle set on 250 bucolic acres – including landscaped gardens, a golf course, and even a private forest. In Amsterdam, our nights will be spent at the Pulitzer Hotel, centrally located in the heart of this historic city. View our brochure and registration form

  • Saturday, October 25, 10:00 am – 12:00 noon – Magical Mixes

    Join Jacqueline van der Kloet at the Berkshire Botanical Gardens on Saturday, October 25, from 10 – 12, for a talk on plant combinations in her garden designs. She will focus on how she combines bulbs, perennials, flowering shrubs and trees in a naturalistic garden style. Using a case-study approach, she will suggest perennials and spring flowering bulbs and how to use them in all kinds of situations: private gardens small and large, estates, public parks and exhibitions. The program will include her inspirational lecture, a short break and time devoted to the technical “how to” aspects of her designs. She will answer all of your bulb questions and suggest solutions.

    Jacqueline van der Kloet is an internationally known garden designer based in Weesp, Holland. She is known for her artistic combinations of bulbs, perennials and flowering shrubs and trees. Her designs for public, private and corporate clients are found throughout Europe. She designed displays, both in 2002 and 2012, for Floriade, the international exhibition of flowers and gardening, held every ten years in the Netherlands. She renovated the bulb plantings at the famous Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, Netherlands, and has worked extensively with “New Wave” garden designer Piet Oudolf to create bulb planting schemes for three of America’s newest and most exciting public spaces: Millennial Park and the Lurie Garden in Chicago, Battery Park in New York City and the Seasonal Walk at the New York Botanical Garden. She has designed planting schemes at private gardens, including the Linden Allee at Martha Stewart’s Bedford, NY, estate.

    BBG member price $30, nonmembers $35. Register at http://www.berkshirebotanical.org/ai1ec_event/dutch-garden-designer-jacqueline-van-der-kloet-magical-mixes/?instance_id=2602, or call 413-298-3926, x 15.

  • Wednesday, March 23 or Thursday, March 24, 9:00 am – 1:30 pm – Boston Get Together Event from Grand Circle Travel

    What better way to celebrate the 2012 Floriade in Venlo, Holland than to experience the event first hand with a once in a lifetime trip with Grand Circle Travel? Grand Circle Travel is the industry leader in providing international travel to Americans over 50.  They specialize in offering exceptional experiences with unique opportunities for learning and discovery.  Their 2012 Holland & Belgium in Springtime river cruise is being modified to incorporate the Floriade, which is held only once every ten years.

    Jim Henderer of Grand Circle Travel would like to extend an invitation to you to attend a Boston Get Together Event on either Wednesday, March 23 or Thursday, March 24, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. In addition to learning more about our 2012 river cruise that incorporates the Floriade, the Get Together will provide you with the opportunity to learn what makes Grand Circle so special.  The event will be highly informational, and will include:

    · A brunch and Gallery Tour
    · Group Leader Best Practice Sharing and Networking
    · Complimentary Lunch and a presentation at Anthony’s Pier 4 Restaurant
    · Raffle for a surprise

    To RSVP for this event, please call Jim Henderer at 617-346-6197.  Space is limited.  Upon receiving your RSVP, he will send you a confirmation email with all the detailed information you will need.

  • April 19 – April 27, 2012 – World Horticultural Expo Garden Tour

    Floriade happens only ONCE EVERY TEN YEARS. This Donna Dawson led, I Can Garden tour will give you a full day there so you can take as much of it in as possible. Visitors to Floriade 2012 in Venlo will have the opportunity to enjoy the world’s most exquisite and exceptional flowers, plants, trees, fruits and vegetables. At Floriade 2012 you will experience nature. Using the senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell you will experience firsthand the influence horticulture has on the quality of our daily lives. Floriade is a World Horticultural Expo staged once every ten years in the Netherlands. But Floriade 2012 offers much more. Each day features a cultural program of music, dance, literature, theater and visual art from all over the world. Sustainable, pioneering architectural eye catchers, as never seen before, will be shown for the first time at Floriade 2012. With countless exciting, innovative and educational attractions and activities. Various characteristic restaurants and friendly, welcoming cafes offer visitors a place to savor delicious local and international cuisine, naturally prepared with home grown ingredients.

    The Spring Tour Includes:

    Keukenhof – Spring at its most beautiful. An unprecedented wealth of spectacular floral displays planted in endless varieties, alternated with beautiful works of art. Keukenhof is unique, world famous and has been one of the most popular destinations in the Netherlands for many years now.

    Hortus Bulborum – with its 4,200 spring-flowering historical bulbs. This collection consists primarily of tulips, narcissus and hyacinths, but there is also a small number of Fritillaria and crocus, primarily the C.vernus types. In addition to functioning as a gene bank, the garden has a seasonal display of thousands of heirloom bulbs, some of which are no longer in commercial production. Certain tulips originated in the 16th century. The Fritillaria persica on display was already in cultivation as early as 1577, while the oldest narcissus is several centuries older yet. The garden, therefore, provides a fascinating overview of these immensely popular spring bloomers grown through the centuries.

    Van Gogh Museum – A visit to the Van Gogh Museum is a unique experience. The museum contains the largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh in the world. It provides the opportunity to keep track of the artist’s developments, or compare his paintings to works by other artists from the 19th century in the collection.

    Afternoon Canal Cruise in Amsterdam – Enjoy the best cruise through 17th century Amsterdam. Holland’s capital has 160 canals and 1000 bridges. Experience Amsterdam from the water. Cruising through a number of Amsterdam’s canals, this cruise passes along some of the city’s most beautiful spots. While gliding through the old centre of the city you see elegant merchant’s mansions, carillon-crowned churches and the warehouses with their rich history from Holland’s Golden Age.

    Aalsmeer Flower Auction – ‘The world marketplace for flowers and plants’ – Every day Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer sets the world price for flowers and plants. This happens by bringing supply and demand together by means of the auction clock- a fascinating process during which large and small batches of flowers are sold within fractions of seconds. Each day, 19 million flowers and two million plants are sold through 13 clocks at ‘Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer’.

    Amsterdam Botanical Gardens – Hortus Botanicus – The Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam is one of the oldest botanic gardens in the world. Today, there are more than 4,000 plant species growing in the garden and greenhouses. The Hortus is located in the Plantage district on the edge of the hectic center of Amsterdam. Behind the 300-year-old gates, however, the bustle of the city seems to disappear.

    Paleis Het Loo – Paleis Het Loo is a palace, more than three hundred years old, right in the heart of the Netherlands, close to the town of Apeldoorn. The former royal residence has been open to the public since in 1984 after undergoing substantial restoration work. The sumptuously furnished interiors give an impression of how the Dutch royal family lived here for three centuries. The reconstructed gardens breathe the atmosphere of their seventeenth century origin with their fountains and elegantly box-lined parterres. The palace’s setting in one of Holland’s most beautiful nature areas makes a visit a real delight at any time of year.

    For complete details, log on to www.gardeningtours.com. The price, land only, is 2,400 Euros per person, double occupancy, with a 717 Euro single supplement. You may email Donna at donna@icangarden.com, or call toll free 1-866-642-7172. Why call now for something which takes place in 2012? Because Donna’s acclaimed 2011 tours have already sold out – they are that good. You must act early to secure your spot.