Floriade 2012 Fantastic

Floriade is the international horticultural exhibition held every ten years in the Netherlands. I am fortunate to have been able to visit the past three. In 1992 at Zoetermeer I recall being impressed and still remember some of the garden designs and planting schemes there. Unfortunately, ten years later at Haarlemmermeer, near to my home in Amsterdam, the exhibition was a huge failure. The overall design was poor, the planting throughout the exhibition was weak and ineffective and the site became abandoned after the show finished.

Floriade 2012It was with trepidation, therefore, that I paid my first visit this week to Floriade 2012, being held in Venlo, in  the south of the Netherlands. Having learnt from the mistakes last time around the site is already clearly planned to be integrated into the city. Already an impressive new office building marks the entrance to the site which will eventually be developed to include a mix of living and working opportunities.

Aqapavilion - Floriade 2012Various buildings both permanent and temporary are to be found throughout the exhibition site. For the duration of the exhibition, a cable car is available to take you to the farthest part of the terrain. On arrival I made my way to the nearby station and had the opportunity to gain a bird’s eye view before weaving my way back to the central plaza.  In all, it took me about five hours to stroll through the site, but I only managed to pop into a few of the many pavilions; to have seen everything in the Villa Flora with its exhibition of indoor plants would have take half a day on its own!

Villa Flora - Floriade 2012April and May is tulip time and I was not disappointed. Some of the displays were over the top, but this is an exhibition and their gaiety seemed quite appropriate.

Tulips - Floriade 2012There were, however, some quite tasteful, well developed bulb schemes on show as well.

Tulips - Floriade 2012A major display near to the lake had been designed by Jacqueline van der Kloet. Three strips in different colour themes were extravagant in their scale and the number of plants used. They were very much in the Victorian tradition of carpet bedding and were clearly intended to impress.

Tulips - Floriade 2012Apparently the designer’s aim was to create the effect of confetti sprinkled across the slope and to this extent they succeeded.

Perennial Meadows - Floriade 2012By far the most interesting use of tulips on the site was in a series of large perennial borders in one of the more distant themed areas of the exhibition (Education and Innovation). These borders seem to be applying my own principles for perennial meadows. On a very large scale, the perennials were repeated in irregular patterns and mixtures of tulips were dotted amongst them to function as complementary plants, giving a bold display early in the season.

Tulips - Floriade 2012Perennials, perennial meadows and ornamental grasses were to be found throughout the exhibition site. I will be returning in summer to see how these develop, but even at this early time in the year I was impressed at what has been set out. In particular in one of the other themed areas “Relax and Heal”, wide drifts of ornamental grasses spreading out into surrounding woodland are likely to impart a soothing, all embracing atmosphere as they fill out and come into flower. I was interested to note drifts of grasses being interplanted with rivers of heathers which is an idea that has never suggested itself to me.

Ornamental grasses - Floriade 2012As with any international exhibition there are numerous national pavilions and as ever they are a mixed bunch. Some would have been better staying at home, but the two that stood out above all were China and Belgium.

China Pavilion - Floriade 2012Cina Pavilion - Floriade 2012China is a huge, beautifully detailed example of a traditional garden. Without doubt the best example I have ever seen outside of the country.

Belgium Pavilion - Floriade 2012Belgium Pavilion - Floriade 2012Belgium’s pavilion in comparison to China’s is ultra modern . The building rises out of a steeply sloping terrain which travels up to cover its roof. The planting, including many grasses, was arranged in bands and patterns. It was newly planted and will not really look at its best until later this summer, but the integrated irrigation system should guarantee its success.

The biggest disappointment in the exhibition was the line of 15 office gardens lining the main plaza area. This had promised to be a highlight, but most of them were uninteresting. All are accompanied by explanations of the sophisticated ideas underlying their designs, but few were worth more than a quick glance. Perhaps office workers don’t need anything more than a green space to relax in. The two that stood out from the crowd, just like with the international pavilions, were one that was very modern and the other a modern interpretation of a traditional Japanees tea garden.

Floriade 2012The Stichting Tuinpromotie Nederland garden was a highly designed architectural space, intellectual in concept and refined in its detailing.

The Kawaguchi City garden was possibly too complex and would require too much work to maintain perfectly for an office garden, but it was exquisite in its detail. It attempted to contrast traditional Japanese garden traditions with modern design concepts. It uses an intriguing mixture of unusual trees, shrubs and perennials to fill the space. For some reason I was so taken with the planting that I forgot to take any pictures – sorry.

Floriade 2012So my first look at Floriade 2012 was highly enjoyable. I will return in mid June when the  tulips will have been replaced with summer bedding and the perennial plantings will have  come on stream.

The exhibition runs until 7 October and is likely be busy especially once the word gets out that this is really worth seeing this time around; already visitor numbers are well above expectations.

For details see their web site - www.floriade.com

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Keukenhof 2012 discovers tulip – bulb mixtures

There are two good reasons to mix together different varieties of tulips at planting time.

Firstly, by selecting early, mid-season and late flowering varieties you can create a splash of colour lasting maybe six or more weeks long, rather than the two to three weeks that a single variety would offer. Secondly, I always see tulip flowers as blobs of colour ready to paint a garden landscape. The pointillist school of artists mixed their dots of colour  to create magical shimmering scenes and we as gardeners can do the same thing by bringing together harmonious and contrasting tulip flowers.

Tulip Mixture

Ten years ago when I was working on Gardening with Tulips it was a real struggle to find locations in which tulips were used well and even more difficult to find schemes to photograph which showed mixtures of different coloured tulips. This year in the Keukenhof – Holland’s bulb industry show garden near Amsterdam – everything has suddenly changed.

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-2

For decades, Keukenhof planting consisted of block plantings of different varieties. Pink next to yellow, orange, violet, green and blue – the cacophony was unabating in a loud celebration of spring – visitors seemed to love it!

This is a typicale old style scheme greeting you at the entrance to the park this year.

Keukenhof traditional planting scheme

A couple of years ago, perhaps urged on by my own writing on the subject, a few tulip mixtures started to be planted at the Keukenhof. But bulb growers are not always gifted designers and the mixtures they put together were muddled and far from inspiring. So imagine my surprise last week when making my annual pilgrimage there to find not one or two, but dozens of examples of mixed bulb planting displays – and many were really quite attractive.

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-4Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-5As well as being a huge tourist attraction, the Keukenhof is there to promote the bulb industry with each grower being allotted space to display their wares. Many are still planting in the old way, but it seems that a new generation are trying to show their plants in a more creative manner.

However, the growers are trying to sell bulbs and their schemes are almost entirely created using bulbs from their firms assortment. Real gardeners, on the other hand, will add bulbs to their beds and borders to complement the other plants growing there; the Keukenhof is only open for a few weeks in spring and need not look good all year round.

The few demonstration gardens that are to be found in one area of the park are so bad I could not bring myself to photograph them. They consist of the sort of pots and ornaments you might find for sale in a garden centre arranged into cluttered tableaux that bear little relationship to real gardens. One day maybe they will create real demonstration gardens at the Keukenhof and show their visitors how bulbs can be used to enhance them. But lets not be negative;  I am sure that the mixtures of bulbs that have now started to appear there are interesting and will inspire many visitors to be more adventurous with bulbs in their own gardens.

 

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-11

How many different colours and varieties of bulbs you add to a scheme is a matter of personal taste. In my own garden I allocate a specific theme to its various areas and develop these using mixtures of either complementary or boldly contrasting varieties. For example, by my entrance gate – tall pink and low dark red tulips pepper the ground cover of white flowering perennials. Another border has large flowered yellow/orange ‘Daydream’ tulips amidst a yellow field of lower growing, starry flowered ‘West Point’, one of the Lily-flowered Group of tulips.

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-6

A few of the successful schemes at the Keukenhof follow a similar approach by mixing two or three contrasting cultivars together or alternatively more varieties, but within the same colour range.

Unfortunately many more schemes use a much wider range of colours and forms to create splashes of colour which from a distance look great, but on closer examination appear muddled.

One of the biggest problems, in my opinion, is the regular addition of daffodils to these tulip mixtures. We are used to seeing tulips and daffodils together  in our gardens in spring, but in nature they come from very different habitats. The daffodil is a woodland edge plant and usually requires plenty of moisture in autumn and spring to thrive. The tulip comes form high mountain, well-drained, steppe habitats which are bone dry in summer and moist and very cold in winter. They are different characters and need using differently in planting schemes.

Here is the daffodil being used well and in sympathy with its nature to create wide sweeps of colour around the edge of woodland.

When mixed with the refined form of slink tulip flowers the daffodils look untidy and serve only to add colour to the schemes they are used in.

This scheme looks fabulous from a distance, but close too I found it less satisfying, but you may disagree.

 

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-18Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-19

The one thing I did learn form what I discovered at the Keukenhof this year was that the smaller, multiflowered daffodils worked much better in the mixed schemes than any of their larger family members. However, used in this way, they simply serve to fill in the background to the prima donna tulip flowers.

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-14

Clearly the wind of change is blowing through the Keukenhof and the rate of change is fast – I cannot wait to return next year and see what happens next.

Tulip Mixtures - Keukenhof-13

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Using Tulips in the Garden

Below is an extract from a post I made last year around this time about blue tulips. The new video shows how I like to use these tulips in the garden.

I use tulips to flood my perennial meadow schemes with colour early in the year. The bed  of purple flowered tulips featured in the video contains a meadow comprising deschampsia grasses, sedums, astrantias and nepetas. Two weeks ago it was dotted with daffodils, now tulips bring colour in waves which last some 4 or 5 weeks to be followed in May by ornamental onions (Alliums); thereafter the perennial take centre stage.

Blue Tulips

Blue is a colour to be cherished in the garden, but rarely is it pure. Let’s take a look at a range of tulips that offer up this possibility.

Tulipa humilis Albocaerulea Group

Tulipa humilis Albocaerulea Group

Genetic manipulation is nothing new as the history of cultivated plants can testify. For centuries we have been busy selecting and hybridizing plants in order to create something different. The yield of crop plants has been a significant driving force as has the search for disease resistance, but also flower colours, shape and size have all been manipulated. Tulips did not escape our attention and their history is intrinsically the tale of attempts to breed and manipulate them to create ever more attractive flowers to decorate our homes and gardens.

What sets the tulip apart is a combination of the attraction of its simple elegant flowers and the wide range of stunning colours it manifests itself in. However, if it had not been for the instability of the genetic makeup of the tulip its glorious history could never have been written. Tulips, far more than most other plants, are prone to mutation. Spontaneously, they throw up new forms: some with altered flower colours, some with double the number of petals or forms with twisted and distorted petals. Such variations are called sports and it is these forms that have stimulated our interest in them by showing tantalizing glimpses of just what might be possible and encouraging us to start hybridizing them to create even more desirable combinations. The Turks became obsessed with etiolated tulip flowers during the glorious days of the Ottoman Empire, the French have had a long history of fascination with tulips, for example, prized double flowered forms used as corsages during the late 17th century, and, of course, there is the whole fiasco of tulipomania in the Netherlands caused by the extravagantly striped and streaked flowers of virus infected tulips.

Tulip breeding in the 20th century has focused attention on creating exciting coloured forms for mass bedding and cut-flower production. Today the Darwinhybrid Group in a range of predominantly red, yellow and orange forms is suitable for mass bedding displays and the Triumph tulips with their broad colour range are the staple tulip for both gardens and vase alike.

In spite of all the attention the tulip has received there still seems one goal that is unattainable; namely a truly blue flower. In spite of this we have all received nursery catalogues depicting bright blue tulips often accompanied by blue roses and sugar pink pampus grasses, none of which resemble their photographs in reality. Frustratingly, a true blue tulips seems as if it should be a possibility as there are species and cultivars that are clearly capable of generating blue pigments. These tints however, are always to be found at the base of the petals making up the flower’s basal markings and to date nobody has succeeded in breeding a flower where these pigments have been drawn up the petals to create an all blue flower.

Tulip 'Synaeda Blue' and 'Negrita'

Tulip 'Synaeda Blue' and 'Negrita'

The most exquisite example of blue basal markings is to be found in the small growing species Tulipa humilis Albocaerulea Oculata Group. This jewel like tulip is something for the rock garden or pot where its unique beauty can be cherished. On a larger scale the Triumph Group tulip ‘Negrita’ holds out yet more promise. Its flowers are a medley of rich glowing purples and violets and although at their base they fade to white, the petals also have small clear blue markings; from such a beginning the step to all blue should surely not be too great, but so far it seems to be.

Tulip 'Bleu Aimable'

Tulip 'Bleu Aimable'

The current situation has not stopped growers trying to persuade us that the blue tulip has arrived by the names they have applied to them. These so-called blue tulips are in reality shades of violet or mauve especially when viewed in strong sunlight. A favourite amongst these is one of the oldest, Single Late Group ‘Bleu Aimable’. The flowers are quite small in a shade of light lilac that in soft filtered light can look almost blue. Unfortunately, the vigour of this cultivar is declining and it is only rarely offered for sale. However, do not despair as its sport ‘Blue Parrot’ is vigorous and widely available, offering the same delicate hue and luckily this Parrot Group tulip’s flowers are not grotesque like others, but, rather, wavy and attractively crumpled.

Tulip' Blue Parrot'

Tulip' Blue Parrot'

Blue Pearl’ is another Single Late tulip in a pinker shade of violet purple with a tantalizing blue base and dark purple anthers. Such details are part of the pleasure of studying tulip flowers and can form the basis of developing mixtures with harmonizing colour themes.

Tulip 'Blue Champion'

Tulip 'Blue Champion'

Warmer tints are to be found in the flowers of the Triumph, ‘Blue Champion’ and the Double Late Group tulip ‘Blue Diamond’. Essentially these are shades of purple infused with pink and would be strong enough to be used on their own as a single colour theme or mixed and blended with other tulips in shades of violet and purple. ‘Blue Diamond’ is the double sport of the Triumph ‘Prince Charles’. Obviously the two will complement each other perfectly, but this could become the starting point for a scheme in which Triumph and Single Late tulips in the purple violet colour range are added: ‘Negrita’, ‘Bleu Aimable’, Synaeda Blue, ‘Cum Laude’, ‘Greuze’ and ‘Recredo’ are just some of the possibilities.

Tulip 'Blue Diamond'

Tulip 'Blue Diamond'

Lilac Perfection’ is another gardenworthy late double in the similar colour of soft lilac that fades to white towards the centre of its flowers. The colour is clear and much closer to blue than many.

Tulip 'Blue Heron'

Tulip 'Blue Heron'

The Fringed Group tulip ‘Blue Heron’ is a tough reliable garden tulip, but its colour is too violet purple for me to think of it as blue. Likewise, the Triumph ‘Synaeda Blue’ (see photograph above behind Tulip ‘Negrita’) has an exquisite complex flower; the violet purple petals fade through shades of lilac to white both towards their edges and bases, while the base is overlaid with a clear star shaped yellow marking. Both are tulips to add to our bulb orders, but don’t think of them as blue when deciding where to plant them.

The blue tulip may never be with us, but the ranges of tulips aspiring to the name are certainly not to be despised. They offer a spectrum of sophisticated hues and tints that tend to harmonize with each other; they can be blended with pinks and reds or they can be used to set up exciting colour contrasts with other colours in the spring garden such as yellows and oranges if you dare. What’s in a name?

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Garden Photography

In the last ten years digital cameras have improved to the point where technical aspects of photography such as exposure, depth of field, focus and sharpness are no longer problems. What has not become any easier is composition and the ability to communicate; in other words, the art of photography.

Generally I am disappointed by the quality of photography presented on gardening blogs and web sites. Too often snaps of flowers and gardens are put up that whilst in focus say very little about their subject. Surly, the appreciation of gardens and plants is foremost a visual experience and for those of us who are passionate about these things we should really be making every effort to present them well and effectively.

I am no better than many bloggers and will, in a rush, throw together a few pictures to decorate a post, but mostly I do make an effort to go one step further. With the new gardening season gathering pace I plan do my best – but note this post contains no images!

For computer savvy gardeners there are two online resources you might find useful. Firstly, Craft And Vision is run by David DuChemin and offers a range of very reasonably priced eBooks on all aspects of photography written by different professional photographers. The books are very well presented, beautifully illustrated and highly informative. I have personnally enjoyed reading a number of them and picked up quite a few useful tips. Some are how-to books, but there are a number of others that focus on the real art of photographic expression, and it is these that I would strongly urge you to take a serious look at. Even experienced photographs will benefit here as what I found was that they make you stop for a time and think about what it is you are really trying to do. There is even a free eBook to get you started and to gain an insight into the quality and style of what else is available from here here - entitled Craft and Vision – 11 ways to improve your photography.

For those of you who want to go a stage further and really step up your level of photography the English based My Photo School has been running for about a year. Here you follow an online course for a month. Each week you download an illustrated lecture from your tutor. You are required to carry out a study project each week based upon the lecture content, and are brought into contact with the professional tutor as well as the other students following the course via a discussion forum. This unique approach to online study gives you a chance to have your work critiqued and to ask questions that never seem to be covered in the books on garden photography you have read.

Remember that the best camera for garden photography is the one you have with you. Being in the right place at the right time and knowing how to capture you subject without having to think about it is what matters. Even a smart phone in the right hands can create truly evocative images. Make sure you are prepared to shoot.

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Amsterdam Tulip Museum

The spring of 2012 is the time that many gardeners are planning a visit to Holland. Not only is the Keukenhof open and likely to be reaching its peak within the next couple of weeks. There is a new national perennial plant garden to check out which will be looking good in this its second year after planting, and last but not least the Floriade; the Netherlands’ international garden show, which takes place every ten years and lasts all summer. All of these will be featured here as and when I visit them myself, but in addition I think it is worth making everyone aware of some other gardening venues to consider adding to your itineries – starting with something in the very heart of Amsterdam;

The Amsterdam Tulip Museum

Amsterdam Tulip MuseumOpening timesSituated on the Prinsengracht opposite to the famous Anne Frank Museum you are unlikely not to be in the vicinity during a visit to Amsterdam. Surprisingly until it opened in 2005, Amsterdam did not have a museum devoted to Holland’s most famous export product –  the tulip.

Since the sixteenth century the tulip has been associated with Holland. Its history is well known, fortunes have been made and lost, but more importantly the beauty of this flower is admired throughout the world.

Amsterdam Tulip MuseumThe Amsterdam Tulip Museum celebrates both the past and present history of this dramatic flower. It is owned and run by bulb experts whose families have been growing and trading bulbs for generations. If you need information or advice this is definitely the place to visit.

Amsterdam Tulip Museum - ShopOn entering the shop, the ground floor overflows with high quality souvenirs, books, and naturally bulbs are there to be taken away. Easier, maybe, would be to place an order and have the bulbs sent to your home address. In Europe their web site – Fluwel – is the place to shop, but for American customers, bulbs can be ordered and will be despatched by their American sponsors – Colorblends.

Amsterdam Tulip Museum - bulbsThis year the museum has been relocated a few doors down the street to much larger premises. This has made it possible to enlarge the displays to create a venue where all aspects of the tulip can be fully celebrated. For a modest entry fee you will be able to admire slick displays of tulip vases, ornaments and paintings, but for me the most interesting part was a highly informative video which brings the history, botany and commercial production of the bulbs to life. For the video alone, it is well worth entering the museum.

Amsterdam Tulip Museum - displayTo be critical, the museum displays are more decorative than informative; even though they are all well documented, most visitors will probably simply look and move on. I would also have liked to see more about the practice of growing tulips both in gardens and as cut flowers, which is after all the main focus of the current interest in the plant.

Amsterdam Tulip Museum - Tulip PotsFor top quality, unusual bulbs, gifts and books this is the best place for keen gardeners to shop in Amsterdam. It is surrounded by cafe terraces in the heart of the historic city centre of Amsterdam and really should not be missed.

 

Amsterdam Tulip Museum - bulbs

Amsterdam Tulip Museum
Prinsengracht 116
1015 EA Amsterdam
The Netherlands

Tel +31 (0) 20 421 00 95

email info@tulipmuseum.org

Web sites

- Amsterdam Tulip Museum

-Fluwel to order bulbs from the Netherlands

-Colorblends web site has a lot of interesting information on bulbs and tulips in particular. Although a wholesale supplier, any bulbs ordered at the Amsterdam Tulip Museum for delivery in North America will be handled by Colorblends.

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