Floriade 2012: An inspiring visit to the theater of nature

A unique, exciting and active experience — that’s how the organizers of the immense Floriade exhibition describe a visit to their event, and they couldn’t be more accurate. The only horticultural expo in the world gives people from all over the globe interested in flowers and gardening an extra reason to visit the Netherlands this year. It is held only once every 10 years. In the 2012 exhibition will visitors will not only have the chance to see the most extraordinary flowers, plants, shrubs, trees and roses. The expo includes plenty of theater, literature, dance, music, and visual art shows. The Floriade’s theme in 2012 is “Be part of the theater of nature, get closer to the quality of life”. It is a theater you will experience with all your senses, and a one-day visit may not be enough to enjoy all the activities organized in the park, which covers 66 hectares.
The 2012 edition is the sixth horticultural expo held in the Netherlands and it will last until Oct. 7.
The park is divided into five themed zones, or “auditoriums”, that are separated by woodland. As a result, when walking from one theme to another, you will always cross a wooded area to reflect on the impressions of the zone you just visited and get ready for the next one. Each covers a different relationship between humans and horticulture. “Relax & Heal”, for instance, shows visitors how nature relaxes and provides health and wellbeing. It includes a barefoot path to feel the different textures of the surfaces you walk on, herbs with healing properties, feel-good gardens to balance the body, and even an infrared sauna that relaxes the muscles, all in an Oriental setting.
“Green Engine” covers the seemingly contradicting relationship between nature and industry. However, these two are not necessarily at odds with one another. This zone shows how we can make the horticultural sector more sustainable by using new technologies. In fact, the participating municipalities wished to focus on sustainability, and the expo is designed based on the “Cradle-to-Cradle” philosophy, which tries to create products that can benefit the environment and be used over and over again, rather than discarding them. In this model, products may be recycled as well, but they should not be “downcycled” into lesser products. Ideally, it aims for a waste-free world. The over 30 meters-high glass building “Villa Flora” is the park’s landmark and built according to this philosophy. Currently, it hosts the biggest indoor flower show of Europe, but once the Floriade expo comes to an end the building will be part of Venlo GreenPark, a business area home to companies working on sustainability and innovative green technologies. As part of its focus on sustainability, the park is set up in a way that made as little changes as possible to the existing landscape. The expo includes two windmills and numerous solar panels that generate part of the energy used in the park.
The “Education & Innovation” zone is perhaps even more interesting for visitors of all ages, as it contains many interactive activities. Always wanted to know what it feels like to be a bee? Or are you eager to taste new, exotic fruits and vegetables and cook your own meal in a laboratory? This is your chance!
Those who think that you have to travel to remote places to enjoy the relaxing and healing effect of nature should visit the “Environment” theme, which shows the importance of bringing green to the city, your home, and the office. To illustrate this: studies show that a greener living environment reduces obesity by 15 percent, and that greenery in the office boosts employees’ performance by 3.5 percent.
What would an expo be without the participation of countries from all over the world? As in the regular world expos, numerous countries set up a pavilion in the Floriade to showcase their culture and customs, including China, Spain, Yemen, Bolivia, Indonesia and Japan. The China pavilion — a replica of one of the classical gardens of Suzhou, which is a popular tourist attraction — is absolutely a must-see. The large ponds full of water lilies will make you feel like you are in China, and the pavilion itself is built in a traditional Chinese architectural style. The Yemeni pavilion is more basic, but the handicrafts at display make it worth a visit.
This part of the park also houses plenty of booths where you can try different foods from all over the globe, as well as the amphitheater. Some 1,500 visitors can watch spectacular shows and performances here every evening — think about Brazilian dance, local wind and brass bands, African rhythms, and films at the open-air cinema.
The organizers have paid special attention to art in combination with horticulture. The artwork by the “Willowman” is probably the most remarkable. The art-in-nature artist and sculptor lives in the woods of the Floriade, where he works on an eco-art installation in symbiosis with nature.
Given the very large surface area of the park, make sure you wear comfortable shoes. However, a hop-on-hop-off train also crosses the park to take you from one zone to another. Besides, visitors can buy a ticket for the biggest cable car in the Netherlands — with a capacity of 4,000 persons per hour — that connects the two extremes of the park. In accordance with the Cradle-to-Cradle paradigm, the cable car will be transferred to Austria to serve as a ski lift after closure of the Floriade expo.
For further information, visit the official Floriade 2012 website: www.floriade.com.

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