Summer showcase at Floriade

Winfried Versluis (right), board member of Stimuflori, and tulip trader presented Dean Zuidgeest from Villa Gerbera with the Floriade Excellence Award.

ALMERE, Netherlands:  Summer flower grower Paul Vernooij and Team The Greenhouse have been named the supreme winners of Floriade’s seventh Best in (Greenhouse) Show Awards.

Aad van der Knaap, chairman of the Floriade judging committee, and Jan Willem Griep, director of Special Projects Floriade, joined forces in announcing the seventh round of winners on Thursday, 14 July. The pair handed out awards in two categories: Gerbera and Summer Flowers Miscellaneous.

Left to right Dean Zuidgeest from Villa Gerbera, Nico van Ruiten representing Team The Greenhouse, Paul Vernooij, and Mr van Ruiten.

Paul Vernooij from Haalderen reigned supreme in the category Summer Flowers Miscellaneous winning Gold and Bronze for respectively Acanthus mollis and Molucella laevis. Gebr. Van Ruiten from Lisse ended second with Phlox Diamonds Soft Pink.

In the Gerbera category, Gerbera mini Canizares submitted by Team The Greenhouse from Almere won Best in Show.

Winfried Versluis, a board member of the Stimuflori foundation and cut tulip trader, presented Dean Zuidgeest from Villa Gerbera with the  Floriade Excellence Award for its Gerbera ‘Pomponi Power Ball’. This award recognises blooms with the wow factor. The judges praised the massive flowers of this two-toned variety, featuring soft pink and white hues.

Villa Gerbera and Paul Vernooij ended ex-aequo in the Visitor Vote, for respectively Gerbera Pomponi Power Ball and Acanthus mollis.

The Floriade Best in (Greenhouse) Show Awards recognise and promote the very best in ornamentals production undertaken by Dutch growers and their counterparts abroad, judged by a panel of expert judges and public votes.

The seventh Floriade Awards Ceremony took place in what, until 27 September, is the home of 13 alternating flower and plants shows: the Green House. The awards are a celebration of the high standards that have been achieved by growers worldwide who, by participating in the Floriade contests, demonstrate their commitment to quality flower and plant growing.

Altogether, Floriade’s Gerbera and Summer Flowers contest included 20 entries.

The next Floriade Awards Ceremony is set for 27 July, with exotic flowers, cut anthurium, potted orchids and potted Anthurium in the spotlight.