Bring Home The Happiness Of Spring On Flower Bulb Day, Saturday, March 7
100K+ tulips produced from Dutch tulip bulbs grown in the U.S. and unique flower mosaic to blanket San Francisco's Union Square in a kaleidoscope of spring colors; Public invited to pick their own bouquet of free tulips to take home courtesy of Royal Anthos and the European Union
SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A joy-filled California spring tradition, Flower Bulb Day 2020, a showcase of 100K+ colorful tulips and a unique flower mosaic display is set to transform San Francisco's historic Union Square into a vibrant, colorful 'tulip garden' on Saturday, March 7, 2020.
Presented by Royal Anthos, with additional backing from the European Union and the support of the San Francisco Recreation and Parks department, the pop-up tulip garden will bathe Union Square in a kaleidoscope of spring colors. Access to the tulip garden on San Francisco's Union Square is free-of-charge, and the public is invited to pick their own bouquet of free tulips between the hours of 1:00 - 4:30 p.m., with complimentary flower bags distributed by event organizers.
Music will also be in the air and an information booth will be set up on Union Square to answer questions and for the public to learn more about growing flower bulbs -- as well as a special guest appearance by globally beloved children's character, Miffy, who celebrates her 65th birthday this year. View a video of last year's event here.
"We're thrilled to bring tulips – one of the first signs of spring – to San Francisco's historic Union Square for the public to enjoy," said Henk Westerhof, Chairman of Royal Anthos and iBulb. "Aside from being a joyful celebration of spring, Flower Bulb Day also raises awareness of the cut flower bulbs produced in North America from European-originated bulbs, which is Europe's biggest export market for flower bulbs."
Flower Bulb Day is a visually stunning celebration of spring that showcases the beauty and availability of classic, cheerful European flower bulbs. European bulb farmers export approximately 100 different species of flower bulbs annually, including large quantities of tulips, lilies, hyacinths, daffodils, dahlias and gladioli to more than 100 countries worldwide. The US is by far the largest export market for European-grown flower bulbs, with more than one billion bulbs exported annually to the US, where they are planted in private and public gardens, as well as greenhouses by professional growers for the production of cut flowers.
Forty to 50 percent of the total number of European bulbs exported annually to the U.S. are bought by consumers who plant the bulbs in their gardens, as well as city governments and other local municipalities for planting in public parks. The remaining 50 to 60 percent are sold to professional growers who plant the bulbs in greenhouses for the production of cut flowers, which they sell to North American retailers who then sell through to consumers.
"The bulb sector is very successful in North America because we have developed a strong relationship with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the American Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)," added Westerhof. "The pre-clearance phytosanitary agreements we signed more than 65 years ago with the U.S. and Canada enable European bulbs to avoid additional inspections and delays upon arrival, offering a big advantage for European bulb exporters."
Innovation is important to the Dutch, who invest a lot of money in horticulture R&D – not only in the Netherlands, but also in the U.S. through the Cornell University Flower Bulb Research Program, headed by Professor Bill Miller. The outcome of Professor Miller's research is used by Dutch bulb exporters and their North American customers to continuously innovate in the flower bulb sector.
About Royal Anthos
Anthos represents the companies that trade in flower bulbs and nursery stock products in Europe and abroad. The field for the promotion of their interests covers a wide area: fulfilling a supervisory role in the development of (inter)national policies for market access, co-financing and advising the promotion policy of the industry, co-financing and managing the international phytosanitary policy and co-responsibility for the sector policy by participation in organizations and committees dealing with promotion, market access, quality, phytosanitary issues, the environment, education, research and labor issues. For more information, please visit http://www.anthos.org/for-and-by-the-trade.
SOURCE Royal Anthos
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