August 4, 2024
Notes from Floralies
How Canada has stepped onto the world horticulture stage
BY PAUL BRYDGES
Having just returned from Floralies Internationales in Nantes, France, I’m excited to share a little about the opportunities it presented for collaboration with other nations, as well as the honour of representing Canada on the world stage of horticulture.
The theme of this edition of Floralies was “Flower Games” in recognition of France hosting the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Working with this theme, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) garden was laid out in the same format as a trivial pursuit board, which was invented in Canada. Floralies manager Marion Leclerc and her team deserve a huge thanks. She gave our team incredible latitude in how we approached our design layout as well as excellent feedback for technical requirements and direction to the garden build team. Special thanks also to the two firms that completed the build based on our design layout: Paysagiste De La Baie and Les Jardins De Capri. They were able to skillfully interpret the design and bring the overall intent to light with great vibrancy and crispness.
All of this hard work was accomplished despite the weather. Apparently, the Nantes region had been experiencing one of the wettest Mays on record. From arrival and opening day and the days beyond, the skies continued to pour sheets of water on the entire show site. This resulted in the site crews having to find creative solutions to create paths through the saturated clay soil with turf mats, straw and mulch. All of these materials were brought in by the dump truck and transport load to try and accommodate the anticipated crowd of 200,000 spectators.
This shape of our garden created the opportunity to represent many regions of Canada within the different segments of the game board while also offering the opportunity to include some horticultural history and trivia about Canada.
The fact that the Canadian garden was split partially between outside space and under a large event tent was a blessing in disguise. With the benches located in the central hub of the garden, a dry and comfortable space was created for people to gather during the frequent downpours and discuss the garden and Canada’s natural heritage on display.
Special CNLA ambassador and past president Anthony O’Neill greeted visitors to the garden with his typical smile and jovial personality, asking guests if they knew the capital of Canada. Correct answers were rewarded with Canadian flag lapel pins.
Through connections with the Floralies team and International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) Anthony was able to introduce the design team to many of our international partners in horticulture. Since Floralies is an AIPHsanctioned event it allowed our association another opportunity to show our AIPH partners our dedication to advancing the language of horticulture across the globe.
Since the garden was showcasing the natural beauty of Canadian landscapes, it was an ideal backdrop for school groups to learn about pollinators and their connection to plants. The science and horticulture teachers commented on how the garden made it easy to visually explain to students the connection between nature, people and pollinators, as well as the value of plants.
Opportunities to collaborate with international groups is a key reason for CNLA to continue to work with groups such as AIPH and so many others. The National Design committee is currently speaking with the American Professional Landscape Designers (APLD) to come to an agreement on sharing knowledge and networking opportunities between the two associations.
Designers are the first point of contact with clients and the public, and are critical influencers in spreading the knowledge and excitement that plants and horticulture bring to society and the critical environmental factors that horticulture brings to a healthy planet. Showcasing plants and design on the world stage is an invaluable tool in advancing the profession of horticulture.
Paul Brydges, BLA, CLD, APALA, ASLA, CSLA, OALA, FLP is a senior landscape architect at Brydges Landscape Architecture based in Guelph, Ont., and chair of the CNLA National Landscape Designer Sub- Committee.