More than 10,000 Hydrangeas paniculata have now been planted around the Floriade Expo near the Dutch town of Almere. Living Creations are the proud sponsors of Floriade’s thousands of Hydrangeas. Many are part of the Expo’s delightful butterfly and bee causeway. This causeway, which is over three kilometres long, winds its way around the Expo’s 60-hectare site. Our plants can also be found in the China section of Floriade’s arboretum. The organisers decided to include so many paniculatas because they are an ideal food source for butterflies, bees and other pollinators.
A dream come true
Floriade is an international stage for the floriculture sector, held in a different location in Holland every ten years. It’s an event I’ve been coming to all my life and it’s a dream come true for Living Creations to be a part of it. Floriade is all about innovation – the floriculture of the future. So, our Hydrangeas are right at home here. These biodiversity boosters are true assets to Floriade because they are extremely strong, frost-resistant and easy to maintain.
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Living Creations hydrangeas form part of Floriade’s delightful butterfly and bee causeway
The arboretum forms the Expo’s green heart. It will also be at the centre of Hortus, a new neighbourhood which is to be developed on the Floriade site once the Expo ends. The arboretum is an alphabetically arranged tree and plant library, which you will soon literally be able to walk through. What makes it even more special, is that all its trees and plants can contribute to a healthy urban environment. The 3.2-kilometre-long causeway, with its raised butterfly and bee flowerbed, encircles the arboretum. Containing mainly white flowering shrubs, plants and bulbs – including our hydrangeas – the causeway will provide a beautiful contrast to the arboretum’s colourful flora. The causeway’s plants have been specially chosen to ensure that nectar- and pollen-rich flowers are available for bees, butterflies, hoverflies and other beneficial insects practically all year round.
The Hydrangea paniculata
The Hydrangea paniculata’s abundant flowers attract many insects throughout its long season. The plant has both fertile and sterile (infertile) flowers. The small fertile flowers, which are food source for bees and other pollinators, bloom among the showier infertile ones. The Hydrangea paniculata blooms throughout the summer, displaying white to pale pink flowers in large, cone-shaped clusters. In September, when nights get colder, the flowers turn pink to dark red.
Visit Floriade 2022
Almere, a polder town right in the centre of Holland, is hosting the Floriade Expo from 14 April to 9 October 2022. Its central theme is ‘Growing Green Cities’: the Dutch horticulture sector, plus national and international guest participants, will be presenting innovative solutions for sustainable and liveable cities.
Source: Floriade