Floriade Garden Bed Designs

Art in Bloom

Each year the Floriade garden beds are designed to reflect a new theme. This year’s theme is Art in Bloom. Take a closer look at the details of each bed to fully appreciate the diverse array of blooms that have been carefully selected to create these stunning, intricate designs.

Use the map below to identify each garden bed and its location within Commonwealth Park.

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Garden Theme 1 – Literature

The Literature Garden is inspired by the elegance of a bookshelf and the beauty of storytelling. Drawing inspiration from a vast array of writings, stories and poems, it ignites imagination and creativity. The diverse blooms represent the various genres of literature. 

White Tulip ‘Antarctica’ mixed with Pyrethrum ‘Golden Moss’ symbolises a bookshelf, while the different colours reflect various literary genres. The yellow Tulip ‘Crystal Star’ and Daffodil ‘Double Fashion’ evoke the themes of adventure, comedy, and children’s literature, while the Pink Tulip ‘Menton’ and Tulip ‘Pink Impression’ symbolise romance. These vibrant colours are designed to evoke the emotions that we feel when immersed in captivating books. 

The deep colour of Pansy ‘Large Mid Blue’ highlights the uniqueness of each genre. As you wander through this bookshelf of blooms, let your imagination recall your favourite literature. What stories are on your bookshelf? 

Garden Theme 2 – Architecture

The Architecture Garden celebrates the unique design of Canberra, drawing inspiration from the Griffin Plan and the architectural and planning competitions that shaped the city. This flower bed represents architectural principles in a vibrant display of organised floral arrangements. 

Inspired by the structured elegance of Canberra’s ‘garden city’ design, the composition incorporates planned symmetry. Tall Dutch Iris ‘Discovery’ and Dutch Iris ‘Professor Blauw’ evoke the grandeur of the city’s Beaux Arts form. These tall flowers transition smoothly into the Tulipa ‘Ad Rem’ and the smaller Chrysanthemum paludosum, arranged along both sides of the flower bed entry. This layered arrangement mirrors the bold city planning approach, positioning the city within the landscape. 

This garden also reflects the classical decorative style and the extravagant aesthetics of the ‘City Beautiful Movement,’ which aimed to inspire civic pride through classical design. Pink Tulip ‘Spryng’, red Tulip ‘Verandi’, yellow Tulip ‘Strong Gold’, and purple Tulip ‘Saigon’ are carefully arranged alongside white Daffodil ‘Sir Winston Churchill’, creating a harmonious, planned display.

Garden Theme 3 – Sculpture

The Sculpture Garden showcases form and balance, and the art of creating three-dimensional representative or abstract forms. Contemporary artists continue to explore and reinterpret geometry and classical aesthetics, blending traditional techniques with modern themes, materials and technologies to express their deep creativity and innovative thinking.

Red Tulip ‘Verandi’ form the vibrant focal points, surrounded by a structured base of white Tulip ‘White Heart’ with Pansy ‘White’. This display is framed by pink Tulip ‘Pink Impression’, magenta Tulip ‘Barcelona’ and pink Tulip ‘Queensland’. The arrangement creates a series of perspective vistas , offering unique views from different angles around the flower bed. 

Garden Theme 4 – Artist

Art often embodies individual expression and experimentation. The artist’s palette is where colours mix and blend to create unique masterpieces. The palette itself transforms into a beautiful, textured and colourful artwork – bold colours, gentle hues, vivid highlights and warm radiant shades. It stands as a universal symbol of painting and art  worldwide.  

Tulip ‘Orange Juice’ mixed with ‘Pansy Orange’ create the vibrant orange tones of the giant palette. Tulip ‘Negrita’ and Pansy ‘Large Mid Blue’ blend to showcase rich purple pigments, while Ranunculus red adds striking red hues. Daffodil ‘Bridal Crown’ introduces a pristine white and Tulip ‘Ace Pink’, along with Bellis ‘Turbo Pink’. represent soft, gentle pink tones. Poppies ‘Champagne Bubbles White’ add a white tone mixed with yellow and complete the palette’s spectrum. 

Garden Theme 5 – Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh’s masterpiece ‘Starry Night’ is renowned throughout the world. 

The sky is depicted by Pansy ‘Giant Flower Blue’ as the main background colour, with . Tritelia ‘Spring Star Light Blue’ and Viola Tricolor ‘Bowles Black’ add texture and depth. The twinkling yellow stars are represented by Tulip ‘Big Smile’ and Tulip ‘Muscadet’, whose height and colour make the stars stand out against the sky. The swirling sky is conveyed by Hyacinth ‘Woodstock’, Tulip ‘Muscadet’, Tulip ‘Antarctica’, Tulip ‘Panama’, Tulip ‘Saigon’, and Tulip ‘Evita’. The various colours and highlights create a sense of movement, bringing together the swirling scene of  – sky, hills and mountains 

Pansy ‘Large Black’ represents the cypress tree in the foreground of van Gogh’s painting, dominating the left side of the scene. Tulip ‘Evita’ and Bellis ‘White’ provide contrast in height for the township and church in the right corner, completing the artwork. 

Garden Theme 6 – Psychedelia

The style of psychedelic design was strongly influenced by the popular drug LSD, which can alter visual perception and the way people experience the world. Psychedelia usually refers to a style or aesthetic that emerged in the 1960’s psychedelic subculture, reflecting the vibrant and surreal experiences induced by certain psychoactive substances. 

This garden bed captures that experience with free-flowing lines of vibrant coloured blooms. It features two focal flowers: a red Tulip ‘Verandi’ and a purple Pansy ‘Phantom’. Swirling purple and blue hues are represented by Tulip ‘Saigon’, Tulip ‘Curly Sue’, Pansy ‘Large Mid Blue’ and Pansy ‘Giant Flower Blue’. This combination of colours and forms extends the theme from ‘The Starry Night’ display, and is part of the Floriade’s ‘gallery’ theme’. 

Immerse yourself in the vibrant colours and surreal patterns that capture the essence of the 1960s psychedelic art movement. 

Garden Theme 7 – Tulip Iconic

The Tulip Garden embodies Floriade’s celebration of the tulip through the lens of pop art. Pop Art is characterised by its recognisable imagery, drawn from media and popular culture, marking a significant shift in the previous modernist movement. Iconic works, like Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ and the ‘Marilyn Diptych’, epitomise this movement. Silkscreening, printing and collage were common techniques used to achieve the bold and repetitive style that defines this genre.  

In this garden, tulips are the key theme, standing out as repeated, bold and iconic ‘pop’ symbols. Vibrant red, white, pink and yellow hues are presented by varieties such as Tulip ‘Ile De France’, Tulip ‘Negrita’, Tulip ‘Antarctica’, Tulip ‘Novi Sun’, Tulip ‘Strong Gold’, Tulip ‘Pink Impression’, and Tulip ‘Barcelona’. Bright-coloured annuals in the background provide a contrasting backdrop, enhancing the tulips’ presence.  

This composition highlights the tulips as the stars of Floriade, capturing the spirit of this influential pop art movement. 

Garden Theme 8 – Abstract

The Abstract Garden draws inspiration from Piet Mondrian’s 1930 masterpiece ‘Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow’. This floral display echoes Mondrian’s geometric abstraction and harmony of contrasts, emphasising balance and dynamic tension. In Holland, Mondrian, along with Theo van Doesburg, founded the De Stijl (The Style) movement. They shared ideas about art as an expression of relationships, particularly between art and life. Their use of geometric abstraction and primary colours in painting, sculpture, design and architecture aimed to profoundly impact modern life. 

The Abstract Garden embodies this philosophy, using Viola ‘Bowles Black’ to emphasise strong black brushwork that contrast with pure colour planes. Red tulips like Tulip ‘Ile De France’ and Tulip ‘Gerrit Van Der Valk’ offer varying red shades. Yellow blocks are formed by Tulip ‘Vedi Napoli’, Tulip ‘Muscadet’, Tulip ‘Crystal Star’, Tulip ‘Novi Sun’ and Tulip ‘World Friendship’. Pure white is represented by Tulip ‘Antarctica’, Tulip ‘White Heart’ and Tulip ‘Evita’. Blue hues come from Pansy ‘Giant Flower Blue’, Tulip ‘Saigon’ and Pansy ‘Large Black’. 

This garden embodies abstract principles of dynamic contrast and harmonious tension, evoking a mood that is both balanced and expressive. 

Garden bed 9 – Theatre

Theatre is intrinsically linked to live performance, often employing masks to embody various characters and their emotions. Historically, two iconic masks symbolise different aspects of human experience: Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy, depicted with a sombre expression, and Thalia, the Muse of Comedy, characterised by a joyful demeanour.

In the Theatre Garden, the yellow Tulip ‘Novi Sun’ personifies the joyful essence of Thalia, the Muse of Comedy. The magenta Tulip ‘Barcelona’ captures the poignant expression of Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy. Pansy ‘Giant Flower Purple’ serves as the backdrop, enhancing the presence of these dramatic figures. To further enrich the theatrical atmosphere, yellow, orange, and red blooms like Ranunculus ‘Yellow’, Tulip ‘Orange Juice’ and Tulip ‘Ile De France’ are arranged in the background. 

Garden Theme 10 – Art in Bloom

Like spilled paint tins filled with blooms, this display embraces the creative essence of art. What does art mean to you? It’s an outlet for creativity, imagination and innovation – a medium that evokes emotions and stimulates our senses. Art has the power to focus us, inspire us, and reconnect us with aspects of life often overlooked in our daily routines.

Art permeates our everyday existence, shaping our relationships with one another and  with the world around us. It transforms how we think and respond, contributing to a more accessible, inclusive, enjoyable and healthier world. 

The arrangement of colours blends white Tulip ‘Antarctica’ and Tulip ‘White Heart’, the delicate hues of pink and fringe Tulip ‘Queensland’, the boldness of red Pansy ‘Red’, the richness of magenta Tulip ‘Barcelona’, Tulip Saigon, and Viola ‘Blue Porcelain’. Adding vibrant orange tones are Tulip ‘Orange Juice’, and the sunny yellow of Viola ‘Lemon Frost’. 

Garden Theme 11 – Nature

The natural world inspires both music and visual art, blurring the boundaries between humanity and nature and fostering a profound connection to our surroundings. Themes of scenery, spirituality, tranquillity, intricacy, beauty, ecology and memory resonate deeply when connecting people with art and nature. 

The Nature Garden draws its inspiration from the breathtaking landscape of the Brindabella Range, the northernmost section of the Australian Alps. The scenic vista captures the skyline ridgelines and mountainous terrain adorned with red stringybark and scribbly gums, while remaining snow caps hint of the crisp spring mountain air. 

The sun’s radiance is symbolised by Tulip ‘Rambo’ and Tulip ‘Ad Rem’, with the brilliance of solar radiation depicted by Pansy ‘White’ and Viola ‘Lemon Frost’. Subtle shifts in colour evoke clear skies and sun rays. The Brindabella Range is represented by layers of pink and white blocks formed by Tulip ‘Queensland’, Tulip ‘Barcelona’, Tulip ‘White Heart’, Tulip ‘Timeless’, Tulip ‘Curly Sue’ and Tulip ‘Margarita’. Jonquils ‘Pollys Pearl’, with their early blooming flowers and lush foliage, symbolise the native vegetation of the lower valley native in the Brindabella Range , providing dynamic visual interest throughout the blooming season. Pansy ‘Matrix Light Blue’ signifies melting snow and the flow of water through the valleys.

Garden Theme 12 – Film

Film captures narratives, transporting us to diverse places and offering fresh perspectives on life’s stories. It has given us countless iconic quotes, memorable scenes and unforgettable characters. 

In this garden, a rolling film reel composed of various flowers represent key aspects of cinema: Red Tulip ‘Verandi’ symbolise boldness, fantasy, inspiration and romance, Yellow Tulip ‘Jan Van Nes Parrot’ and Tulip ‘Strong Gold’ embody comedy, drama and action; Purple Tulip ‘Saigon’ evokes mystery, suspense and depth. White Tulip ‘Antarctica’ and Pansy ‘Large Black’ highlight the craftsmanship of the cinematographer and the artistry behind the film reel. 

Garden Theme 13 – Music

The Music Garden draws inspiration from the First Movement in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor. Skilfully arranged by Floriade’s gardeners, the musical notes are represented by a vibrant selection of flowers, symbolising the most recognisable and powerful elements of music.  

Red Tulip ‘Gerrit Van Der Valk’ forms the pair of quavers, Tulip ‘Muscadet’ represents the yellow eighth rest. Daffodil ‘Yellow Cheerfulness’ embodies the minim half note, and purple Tulip ‘Margarita’‘ depicts the quaver eighth notes. 

The art of music involves creatively arranging sound to harmonise melody, rhythm and express emotion.  

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
Albert Einstein