During Easter Mass celebrated by the Pope, St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, Rome, is adorned with colorful flower arrangements, a cherished tradition stemming from Dutch florists embellishing the square for Titus Brandsma’s beatification in 1985. This tradition symbolizes the strong bond between the Netherlands and the Vatican. This year, an abundance of Dutch flowers will grace the square, promising a magnificent display. Led by Piet van der Burg, the chief arranger from Berkel en Rodenrijs, flower bulb growers, cut flower growers, and growers’ associations have diligently worked for months to bring Dutch floral splendor to the Vatican. Various stakeholders from the floriculture sector contribute to the project’s success with their products and services.
The floral décor adorns more than 170 square meters of St. Peter’s Square with dozens of arrangements around the high altar, on the stairs and on the central balcony of St. Peter’s basilica – from where Pope Francis will pronounce the papal blessing “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and to the world”). In this way, the Dutch floriculture sector displays a unique and wide range of products to the world. The entirety will be an interplay of mixed colours, in which purple, yellow and white predominate. The well-known bulb flowers traditionally form the basis of the entire arrangement, with the cut flowers incorporated in a colourful way. This year, the gerbera will be the main flower. Growers’ association Summit Gerbera is donating no fewer than 3,500 large-flowered and mini gerberas in a wide variety of colours.
This year there also is a large-scale contribution again from the flower bulb region with more than 21,000 bulb flowers. UNEX Inc. from Voorhout sponsors all tulip bulbs. Roma Nova and nursery Van Der Slot Lisse facilitate the cultivation until flowering. Last year, Mr and Mrs Oskam – owners of the firm W. Oskam & Zn. BV from Voorhout, which annually supplies their Tête-à-Tête daffodils to the flower project.
