Putrajaya Floria 2010

“Putrajaya Floria 2010”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on July 13th, 2010.

The Malaysian International Floral Festival or Floria 2010 was officially launched by our Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak on 10th July. With more than 400,000 flowers on exhibit and 500,000 visitors expected, it promises to be a grand and exciting event.

Many visitors came. There were groups of foreign tourists and we locals came with families and friends. School children and teachers from far and near came by the bus loads.

As for the photography and garden enthusiasts, they were already clicking away with their cameras right from the start. They came with their DSLRs, complete with zoom lenses and camera stands. I had to content with my entry level Olympus FE-4000 point and shoot and my everready handphone cameras. Some were squatting while others were standing still, leaning over or tilted at a precarious angle just to get the perfect shot.

Young ladies, from 2-70 years, love to pose in front of the cameras and I guess the floral displays further enhanced their beauty and youthfulness. "Cheese, Kimchee, senyum (smile), ready? 1,2,3" were heard everywhere I went. Okay, okay, it is this cheery bright atmostphere I like the most anyway.

This year's theme is Tropical Splendour and it will showcase the biggest collection of heliconias in an outdoor theme garden display.

The venue is at the Waterfront, Precinct 2, Putrajaya. Opening hours are as follows:

Mon - Thurs from 9:00am to 10:00pm

Fri - Sun from 9:00am to 12:00 midnight

Admission is FREE

At the entrance, visitors are greeted by a sea of flowers in a myriad of colours. This year, about 180 activities will be held. This include fashion shows, wayang kulit (shadow play) performancs, cultural shows, contests, dikir barat cultural songs, graffiti demonstration and talks by floral experts.

The words FlORIA 2010 is constructed from marigolds and foliage plants. The outdoor themed gardens fall under the following categories:

1. Annuals Garden

2. Bonsai Garden

3. Orchid Garden

4. Heliconia Garden
5. Corporate, Government Ministries, Agencies and NGOs Garden Showcase

The Meadow Garden which is located on the pathway leading to the Annual Garden is the first to greet visitors. Jets of cool mist ejected at regular intervals help to provide some respite from the heat. It also gives my picture above a 'misty look'.

This garden is overflowing with an abundance of flowers in shades and hues from the full spectrum of the rainbow. Orchids, impatients, chrysanthemums, cosmos, coreopsis, dianthus, zinnia, celosia, petunias, vincas, and the list goes on .....

At the Bonsai Garden, miniature figurines add some 'feng-shui' charm. I enjoy stopping over here to admire the small little ancient scholars and poets who are either reading, fishing or resting in their own little rock gardens complete with summer pavillions, greenery and cranes.

Over at the Orchid Garden, gorgeous orchids pout and flaunt their sexy lips and petals. At the Heliconia Garden, more exotic beauties awaits where curvy heliconias are joined by voluptuous  gingers, costus, calatheas, ornamental bananas and starry bromliads in fiery orange, purple, pinks and reds.

Inside the Indoor Floral Pavillion, there is a Vertical Garden. There are ferns, bromliads, anthuriums and more heliconias in this section. Visitors who have just came in from the bright and sunny outdoors will certainly welcome the cool and refreshing environment here. The eyes will need some adjusting to, from the very bright sun outside and into this dimly lit entrance. Other attractions at the Indoor Floral Pavillion include:

1. Country Themed Gardens such as UK, Taiwan, Japan, Australia
2. Flower theme such as Carnation, Heliconia, Chrysanthemum, Orchid and Anthurium
3. Hanging Garden
4. Kiddy Garden
5. Celebrity Musical Garden
6. Fashion Garden
7. Fauna Garden
8. Seasonal Selection
9. Kampung (Village) Garden
10. Exhibits by award-winning garden experts

At the Wildlife Garden area, there are heliconias, star calatheas, costus and more ferns.

The highlight of the indoor pavillion was the Twilight Garden but at the time of my visit, it was too dark for me to photograph anything. I wasn't impressed and I still think the lights are too dim and not attractive. No beautiful shadows and silhouettes. The selection of garden lights in this area did not do a good job of spotlighting the beauty of our tropical gardens for the night view. Or maybe the selection of plants didn't match the lights?

This area is called the Fashion Garden.

There are 10 award-winning experts and landscape designers from Australia, Canada, Netherlands, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Serbia, Taiwan and Britan who are showcasing their designs and talents in individual booths here.

Finally, there is the Garden Bazaar for the public to do their shopping on garden and landscapping items.

I will be featuring more images on the highlights of Floria 2010 soon.

If you are visiting a floral expo, what do you look for?