With thousands of buzzing bees and budding blooms, this year's exceptionally pleasant spring is a game changer for the 36th Floriade festival opening in Canberra this weekend. "Our flowers are going to love the warm, sunny weather conditions and I think they're going to look amazing this year," head gardener Tim Howard said. "It also means our gardening team will be really busy watering everything every night." His team of horticulturalists is excited for visitors to witness about a million plants flowering across 13 uniquely designed garden beds at Commonwealth Park. They've tried interesting colour combinations and planted plenty of fragrant flowers. "There's something for everyone," Mr Howard said. The head gardener is backed by a team of 60 people who have spent a year, from designing beds to planting and caring for bulbs in "abysmal" winter conditions. The team is beaming to see their hard work come to life. "They've all contributed to what you see in the park, horticulturally speaking, whether they're the landscapers, nursery staff counting out the bulbs and annuals by hand or our maintenance staff and apprentices," Mr Howard said "We welcome everyone, we really hope you enjoy the display." His favourite part at Floriade is down by the Nerang Pool where gardeners have reinterpreted a 2019 artwork by Indigenous artist Lynnice Church called Reconciliation. It's something that's never been done before. "We've reimagined the work into a garden-bed design and it is popping, it's exquisite," he said. The theme this year is Floral Wonderland, and the park is teeming with whimsical and nostalgic elements including a Cheshire cat garden and storybook-themed floral displays. With a mix of free and ticketed events, there are more than 100 events for festival goers to enjoy. At a media preview event on Friday, Assistant Minister for Economic Development Tara Cheyne was happy to announce free shuttle buses to Floriade from the city centre and the Parliamentary Triangle. There are also free buses from Belconnen, Woden, Tuggeranong, Kingston and Queanbeyan on weekends and public holidays. READ MORE: And after a successful trial in 2022, the minister said this year's Floriade would bring back sensory hour from 9:30am to 10:30am without any amplified sounds or stage programming. She also thanked the 90 odd community groups for their efforts in planting bulbs across the city and helping to spread the floral spirit. We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
