I love anything to do with flowers; studying them, gazing at them, talking about them, growing them and photographing them. I don’t believe I could ever tire of their innumerable colours, shapes and forms. I find flowers both endlessly captivating and indescribably beautiful, even the ones most people consider too plain and simple to worry about. A world without flowers would feel unbearably desolate to me.
Currently half way between Frankfurt and Cologne, I am on a typically smooth, fast, spacious German train. We sometimes do fast in the UK, but not smooth or spacious …. anything. I’ve been at Christmas World, the biggest trade fair in Europe for folk, like me, that live and breathe Christmas 365 days of the year.
Slowly but surely the show is being taken over by flowers and floristry. I assume this is because many of the biggest Christmas retailers in Europe are garden centres, and because Germany is the world’s biggest consumer of fresh flowers and plants. Christmas, Germany and floriculture go hand in hand. In 2017 there will be a new exhibition hall, Floradecora, the size of several football pitches, devoted to blumen of all kinds. Heralding its arrival next year was a vast display of floristry entitled ‘Design by Modern Nature‘, of which more in a subsequent post. Before we arrived at this shrine to contemporary floral art, I was stopped in my tracks by two pedestal arrangements overflowing with butterfly orchids, carnations, amaryllis, lilac and lilies: a heady concoction indeed. I had my iPhone handy so snapped away, playing with the focus, shadows and saturation whilst whizzing comfortably through Germany’s dark forests and orderly little towns. They do wifi on trains on the continent …. and waiter service at your seat too. It’s a shame I’m nearly at my destination.
Enjoy the blumen!
Happy travelling and thanks for sharing your floral finds in Germany! How do you cope with Xmas all year round..?
It’s very easy. Picking lovely Christmas decs is no great hardship 😉
These lovely blooms made me smile. – Karen
Perfect. Flowers should make you smile 🙂 Dan
Your post made me giggle and I really look forward to that promised one on Floradecora! Will it be open to “Father Christmasses” only, or to people from the green trade, too? Then you could apply for two passes, right 😉 ? Have a good night and say hi to Germany from me 🙂 !
Glad I made you smile Stephanie. Germany says Hi!
Lovely lovely photos!
Oh my, you made me so jealous. They are so fresh, I can nearly smell them. Blumen on my side of the world do not last long in summer, weather swinging from hottest dry desert to steamy Singapore. Yes we are in summer here.
Hmmmm, not so good with steamy Singapore. My English constitution isn’t quite up to it. But a little taste of summer would be quite a tonic on a cold, rainy day in Germany.
Interesting trend – amazing quality of photographs!
You are very kind Candy. They are just iPhone snaps, and the best of a few. It helped having something lovely to take pictures of!
Those pictures are jumping out of my screen – fabulous colours!!! I’m retired now but I wouldn’t have minded making a living out of Christmas!!!! Another interesting post – safe trip home.
Thank you Sally 🙂
Lovely flowers, I can almost smell them directly from the screen. Waiting for more shots from Germany. Have a nice Sunday 🙂
Thanks Paul. More shots when I get home, I promise.
Love that wispy lily.
I believe this is actually one of the Cybister amaryllis, a new series of hybrids from South America. They are particularly dramatic and yet, as you say, lily-like.
Yes. I recognized the cybister amaryllis (Hippeastrum, I believe). I just saw them online for the first time this year, and ordered 3 different ones “Chico”, “Lima” and “Sumatra”. The one in your photos looks whiter than the ones I have. But I think they are so much more interesting than the big honking Christmas Amaryllis. Just my opinion.
There’s something particularly exotic about their spidery flowers, I agree. I’ve grown ‘Lima’ before, but would like to try more.
Travel safely, enjoy your trip, and thank you for the floral candy you provided for your readers. Beautiful doesn’t quite cover these gorgeous blooms. 🙂
Thanks Judy. Another dreary day here in Germany so it’s nice to brighten things up with a few flowers 🙂
I’m impressed……
We Germans in Lancaster Pennsylvania love em too. Bruce Dingeldein
Good news 🙂 Thanks for you comment Bruce.