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The Floriade 2012, an international horticultural exhibition held once in every ten years in the Netherlands, was what prompted the trip that I took to the Netherlands and Paris last September. I thought it would be something that my mum could really enjoy while she is still physically able to make such a trip, and the thought of having to wait another ten years for it to come around again, had seemed a little daunting.
And so, despite having read some rather lacklustre reviews and not so favourable feedbacks from some of the online forums and discussions relating to the Floriade this round, we still went ahead with the initial plans and made our way to Venlo by way of a two-hour train ride from Rotterdam Centraal.
The weather upon arrival at Venlo was as fine a day as any we could have asked for, to be spending it out in the open. There was a reasonable crowd moving along with us as it happened to be a Saturday, but queues were quick to move and overall there wasn’t too much of a hassle with the transit from the train station to the actual venue.
The Floriade had 40 over participating countries with their different themed pavillions spread out over 66 hectares of converted farmland and woods. And in keeping with a green ethos, the infrastructure built for the Floriade 2012 will be put to good use as an industrial park after the fair is over.
The raw wooden path.
As I have pretty much forgotten most of the details from the event (being the non-horticulturist that I was/am), I think I shall just let the pictures do the talking here, if you don’t mind. 
The Green couch.
Beautiful landscape designs truly does have a calming effect on the mind, while pleasing the senses at the same time. Although my mum and I were just going about the grounds as if we were taking an afternoon stroll, we did come away with more than just a pleasant stroll in the park as the Floriade was certainly not lacking in its offering of informative exhibits that were helpful in raising environmental awareness and some pertinent issues.
All in, we did enjoy our day out among the greens and other vibrant colours of flowers in bloom, while being inspired by some of the innovative ideas being presented. It was a rather refreshing experience, I must say.
What a lovely experience for you and your mom. It looks like it would have been interesting even if you weren’t particularly interested in horticulture. Beautiful pictures, too.