Bromeliad Australia’s Annual Spring Show

The Bromeliad Society of Australia’s Spring Show has joined Australian Flowers Week. The Spring Show is at a NEW LOCATION this year: Castle Hill Showground, 129 Showground Rd, Castle Hill on: Saturday 23rd September 2016 10am – 4pm Sunday 24th September 2016 10am – 3pm Showground Rd runs between Old Northern Rd, Castle Hill and Windsor Rd, Norwest Business Park Bromeliad Society of Australia PO Box 340 Ryde NSW 2112 www.bromeliad.org.au. Please tell them your email address if you’d like to receive future notifications – show@bromeliad.org.au Free Admission – Ample Parking.  

Wild about Waratahs Festival 2017

Wild about Waratahs Festival 2017 The Festival has been hosted for the past 20 years at the Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens, Mount Tomah with the aim of presenting to the public the diversity of form and colour that is found in the Waratah. This year, the Festival is from Saturday 23rd  September to Monday 2nd October inclusive. The Festival has a number of components and the full program can be found at www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au. The Festival is sponsored by Protea Flora, WIN and East Coast Wildflowers and part of Australian Flowers Week (#ausflowersweek).

Tailored insurance for the flower industry

Tailored insurance for the flower industry Arthur J. Gallagher, one of the world’s leading insurance broking and risk management firms, today entered into an agreement to provide the cut flower and foliage industry with tailored insurance packages specifically designed for flower growers, wholesalers and retail florists. The Flower Association has negotiated a package that provides the best possible coverage at a very competitive price. “We have a number of specific insurance needs for the growing and retailing parts of the industry and these packages have been negotiated to provide coverage for those,” Executive Officer Shane Holborn said. These include: a package for flower growers that provides extended cover for fresh produce and growing stock, protects shade sails, glasshouses and greenhouses and offers hail damage cover a package for retail florists and flowers wholesalers that provides coverage for building, contents, equipment breakdown, stock losses, theft, money, glass, business interruption, business liability, exterior floral installations and much more. The arrangement also includes free insurance advice and a dedicated industry representative who can arrange insurance solutions for florist, wholesale and grower businesses of all sizes across Australia. Gallagher Account Executive Laura Billington is the flower industry’s contact and has over five years’ experience […]

New membership model launched By Flower Association

New membership model launched By Flower Association The Flower Association has launched a new membership model at a lower annual rate to make it easier for small businesses to join and gain the benefits of membership, including floristry operations which make up a large proportion of the industry and which require support and representation. Membership was traditionally priced at $250, which provided a wide range of membership benefits including a complimentary subscription to Australian Flower Industry magazine, the only publication in Australia to service all industry sectors. The magazine was also sold as an individual product, available at a rate of $50 per annual subscription. Under the new model, membership and magazine will come together as one package for a flat rate of $50, providing an annual membership and an annual magazine subscription. The new model will make it easier for industry members to access all the services and products that the Flower Association has to offer. “By changing our membership model, we will not only be making membership extremely affordable, but we will also be extending the reach of the association,” said Shane Holborn, Executive Officer of the Flower Association. “At the lower rate we expect to gain a […]

Australian Flower Festival a success!

Australian Flower Festival a success! The inaugural Australian Flower Festival formally kicked off Australian Flowers Week running for its second year from 16 to 24 September. The event, hosted by Flower Association, TAFE Queensland and Swann Agencies, brought together florists from around the country to hear presentations from leaders in the industry about running profitable retail businesses and also from social media and tech gurus on how to integrate technology into their business. Departing from more traditional industry conference formats, the organisers of the Flower Festival cultivated a fresh ‘music festival’ atmosphere to capture the fun of floristry whilst also providing essential information to help attendees manage and grow their businesses. “This event is the first of its kind and from the feedback we’ve received that it’s something the Australia floristry sector has been crying out for”, said organiser Shane Holborn, Executive Officer of the Flower Association. “It was a fantastic opportunity for florists to connect with each other, as well as with the growers and allied traders on whose products and services they depend on every day“. The event attracted nearly 250 industry members and featured Business and Tech ‘Stages’ which were only opne to registered industry members featuring […]

Student florists shine in national competition

WildFlowers Australia is pleased to announce the winners of its 2017 national student floristry competition. One hundred and nine entries were received from floristry colleges in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. This competition is designed to develop skills and knowledge of the next generation of Australian florists of wildflower products. A different theme is set each year and students studying at certificate III level participate by designing and making an arrangement to suit this theme. The 2017 theme was a floral arrangement suitable as a table centrepiece for a special occasion or event. Entries are assessed on digital photos of the arrangement and accompanying design notes. Students can choose to enter one of two categories in the competition. For Category 1, wildflower and foliage products (species tracing their origins to either Australia or South Africa) must account for at least 75% of the total plant material used in the design, and for Category 2 designs can feature only Australian native flowers and foliage. To inspire their creativity, students could choose a theme or event with a personal meaning to them, and as a result there were many innovative designs for weddings, birthdays, book […]

Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers

Friday 15 – Sunday 24 September 2017 The locals love it and visitors travel from all over the country to be part of it. Now in its 68th year the award-winning Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers continues to grow. Spectacular gardens, country touring, live music and local food & wine plus much more.

Flowers App available for industry

Flowers, a new electronic publication app for the cut flower and foliage industry, is now available for download from the Apple and Google Play stores. Flowers can be downloaded from the Apple and Google Play Store and gives users access to Australian Flower Industry magazine in an electronic format. In addition to the bi-monthly publication, the app will be expanded over time with a series of Special Editions focusing on specific issues to help the industry. Careers in Flowers and Foliage, a guide to the study and employment opportunities available in the various sectors of the flower industry, made its debut as a print and web-based publication and is now available for free in the Flowers app as the first of many special edition publications being developed for release through the app. Flowers expands on the Australian Flower Industry magazine’s reputation as an important source of industry news and views and also contains a wealth of information on production, world research, business management, marketing advice and upcoming events and practical information, on everything from flower farming through to floral design. Flowers can be downloaded for free by searching for ‘Flower magazine’ in the Apple or Google Play store.  A previous […]

Find Australian Flowers with Australian Flower Finder

Australian Cut flower and foliage farmers are taking the initiative and educating consumers about the benefits and beauty of locally grown product and ways they can ensure they can identify and buy it. The Australian Flower Finder website is a searchable database of Australian flower growers with each entry providing details of products and their availability. The site can be searched based on region, product type and flower type. The cut flower and foliage industry recently made a request for it’s products to be included in the recent mandatory Country of Origin Labeling system being implemented for the food industry. The industry had argued that consumers of flowers deserved the same right to know the origin of their products as they were the same consumers of other fresh produce like fruit and vegetables. The industry’s request was denied by the Federal Government so they have taken the initiative to begin informing consumers themselves. Australian flower farmer and member of the Flower Association Mr Jason Nealon of Tropical Blooms says that the site allows consumers to find Australian grown products and also find out a little bit about the process that goes into producing it. “Australian grown flowers are a top quality […]

WildFlowers Australia Student Floristry Competition

We’re looking forward to another great competition this year! Students from TAFE and private floristry colleges nationally which are Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) can participate through their teachers. This year we’ve opened the design inspiration and theme so each student can choose their own. It is to be a table centrepiece, arranged in base medium, appropriate for a special occasion or event. This arrangement will sit on a round or rectangular table that seats 10 to 12 people. The table cloth may be white or black. The arrangement must be low enough that guests could view over or tall enough to see through or under.  The container is of the student’s choice. Students may also include accessories or embellishments to depict their theme. None of these should over dominate the design, as the emphasis must be on the flowers and foliages, not the container, accessories and/or the embellishments. Through this annual competition, WildFlowers Australia seeks to inform present and future florists about the versatility, availability and beauty of Australian grown wildflower products. The range and quality of these unique flowers and foliages is constantly expanding as new cut flowers species and hybrids are developed and released to the cut flower […]

Australian Flower Festival 2017

The inaugural Australian Flower Festival is being held in Brisbane on Monday 18th September to coincide with Australian Flowers Week (16-24 September). The event is expected to attract 250+ professional florist attendees and we are also opening some areas (the floristry competition and demonstration areas) to the public as a promotional exercise for the industry. The event will not be a traditional conference but will have a fresh, new, young and fun ‘music festival’ format designed to attract and delight florists from around Australia. The event will run from 8:00am to 5:00pm with a schedule of speakers, demonstrations, trade displays and competitions during the day and finishing with a cocktail event at the After Party that evening (6:00-10:00pm). Southbank TAFE campus is providing the venue with indoor and outdoor spaces which can host different activities during the event making it ideal for this format. These areas will be referred to as ‘Stages’ and will include the Inspiration Stage; the Business Stage; the Tech Stage and the Competition Stage. The competitions will be running all day in a separate area of the festival and there will be trade display stands dotted indoors and outdoors throughout the event. There will be street […]

Australian Flower Finder website launched

New website bringing consumers back home Australian Cut flower and foliage farmers are taking the initiative and educating consumers about the benefits and beauty of locally grown product and ways they can ensure they can identify and buy it. The Australian Flower Finder website (www.australianflowerfinder.com.au) is a searchable database of Australian flower growers with each entry providing details of products and their availability. The site can be searched based on region, product type and flower type. The cut flower and foliage industry recently made a request for it’s products to be included in the recent mandatory Country of Origin Labelling system being implemented for the food industry. The industry had argued that consumers of flowers deserved the same right to know the origin of their products as they were the same consumers of other fresh produce like fruit and vegetables. The industry’s request was denied by the Federal Government so they have taken the initiative to begin informing consumers themselves. Australian flower farmer and President of the Flower Association Mr Lodi Pameijer says that the site allows consumers to find Australian grown products and also find out a little bit about the process that goes into producing it. “Australian grown […]

Waratah Bloom Competition – Enter Now

“Wild about Waratahs” Festival  Bloom Competition 2016 The Festival, an annual event for the past 18 years, is held at Blue Mountains Botanic Gardens, Mount Tomah and is organised by the Gardens. The aim of the Festival is to present to the public the diversity of form and colour that is to be found in the waratah. It is hoped that an increased awareness of cultivated waratah selections will aid the protection of existing wild stands of waratah. This year, the Festival is for 10 days from Saturday 24th September to Monday 3rd October inclusive. The Festival has a number of parts. The Festival program outline can be found at http://www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com.au/whats-on/ The Wildflower Industry Network (WIN) is undertaking to conduct the Festival’s Waratah Blooms competition. All commercial wildflower growers are encouraged to support this initiative and submit wildflower blooms for use in the floral displays, and waratahs for entries in the Blooms Competition. Blooms Competition – RULES AND CONDITIONS 1.       Enter a bloom into one of the classes listed on the next page. Please enter only quality blooms. 2.       There is no limit of entries per exhibitor. 3.       The blooms remain the property of the Festival unless prior arrangement is […]

Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show & Spring Festival (WA) Sept 10-23, 2017

 Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show, Western Australia  – 10th – 23rd September 2017 Open 7 days 9am – 4pm Come and share the Spring beauty of the Ravensthorpe Range, the magnificent Hopetoun Coast and the Fitzgerald River and Frank Hann National Parks. Over the last 30 years the Ravensthorpe Wildflower Show has developed into one of the best shows in Western Australia. Possibly the largest number in the world of different species of named wildflowers are displayed, collected from one of the world’s richest biodiversity areas. The Ravensthorpe Herbarium, situated next door to the Wildflower Show, holds many hundred botanical specimens collected from within the Ravensthorpe Shire. Experts on the local flowers are on hand each day for identification queries. Devonshire Teas and warming soup are available each day, provided by local fund raising organisations. The comfortable surroundings of the 106 year old Ravensthorpe Community Centre will make a refreshing ‘tea break’ for the weary traveller. Admission $5.00 adults, Children free Venue: Ravensthorpe Town Hall, Ravensthorpe ~ Wheelchair access available Details of other events HERE

Australian Flowers Week – September 16-24, 2017

The organisers would like to invite you to become part of the 2017 Australian Flowers Week celebrations. This exciting initiative is held each spring with this year’s Australian Flowers Week will run from 16 September to 24 September 2017. Australian Flowers Week is designed to celebrate everything we love about flowers, from the beauty and diversity of Australian grown flowers, to the stunning designs by Australia’s floristry artisans. We are again collating a calendar of events promoting existing events from around the country or why not join the celebration and host your own local event or promotion. A highlight of this year’s week will be the inaugural Australian Flower Festival being hosted in Brisbane, QLD. Australian Flowers Weeks is being supported by a number of industry organisations including the Australian Flower Council, Australian Florist Network, NSW Flower Growers Group, Flower Association of Queensland, Flowers Victoria, WildFlowers Australia and the Wildflower Industry Network. Dozens of private companies are also on-board have committed to celebrating the week in their businesses. We hope that Australian Flowers Week will attract the attention of the public and media and work to raise the profile of all of our respective events, making them even more successful. […]