Originally, Rob Jacobs was a florist, but he no longer found satisfaction in it. However, his love for beautiful flowers remained undiminished, leading to the idea of growing flowers himself. He focused on an exclusive range, small-scale production, and seasonal products. Together with his wife and son Pim, they manage the garden, where they cultivate distinctive products for florists from March until around mid-December.

FloraPodium on Tour, Berkel - Enschot, 12 October 2023

After many years in vegetable cultivation, Eric Peeters was ready for a new challenge. He wanted to grow products that could set him apart in the market. In 2018, the peppers made way for hydrangeas.

They offer a diverse assortment of high-quality products. Last year, they made significant investments in a sorting machine that precisely measures bulb size. The complete package must be right: quality, presentation, and customer contact are essential. 

FloraPodium on Tour, Zevenbergen, 28 September 2023

Interplant Roses is a market leader in sprayrose breeding. The art of cultivating beautiful roses has been handed down through generations at Interplant. Every year, they make 150,000 crosses, resulting in 1.5 million seeds. Their assortment consists of approximately 45% cluster roses, 45% single roses, and roughly 10% garden roses. Interplant aims to provide the broadest range possible to effectively meet market demands.

FloraPodium on Tour, Harmelen, 15 September 2023

Rijk de Jongh is an enthusiastic seasonal grower. Currently, he cultivates beautiful Campanula, Celosia, and Limonium. The first chrysanthemums for autumn have already been planted, and the Brassica has been sown. In autumn, he also expects to have stunning Capsicum Xmas varieties. Rijk is dedicated to providing heavy-quality blooms and offers a surprising, distinctive assortment tailored for the higher-end market segment.

FloraPodium on Tour, Tuil, 13 July 2023

We received a warm welcome from Hein at Van Wordragen Flowers, another family-run enterprise. Hein cultivates 7 varieties of chrysanthemums, focusing on unique and captivating colors. Currently, he has Memphis Pink, Bolte, Kalimba Rosy, Kalimba Salmon, Jolene, Optimist, and Kennedy Rosy. He emphasizes producing heavy-quality flowers and exclusivity.

FloraPodium on Tour, Bruchem, 13 July 2023

‘Grow the best chrysanthemums together’
That’s what drives Zentoo and what they are working on with full energy every day. Zentoo is a passionate group of growers and colleagues, founded in 2007. In their one stop-shop they offer a wide range of colours and types: Santini, disbud and spray. They like to stand out. That’s why they introduce many new varieties throughout the year. To do things differently and better and to offer an inspiring mix with custom selections and seasonal specials. Their collection is 24/7 available in our webshop; and packed with care, just for you. All with one goal: to make everyone as crazy about chrysanthemums as we are.

FloraPodium on Tour, De Lier, 15 June 2023

During the Dutch Lily Days, World Breeding B.V. in Breezand had also opened its doors to visitors. World Breeding B.V. is one of the leading companies in the lilies. It breeds, cultivates and markets new lily varieties.
Striking were the beautiful double OR varieties. The breeders have been working on these for about 25 years. The main feature of this variety is that it is pollen-free. Now they are investing in breeding fragrance-free double ORs. Fairly new in the breeding program are the double OTs.
The main difference between the double OT and OR is that the OT has a rounder flower shape which also curls more and some coarser leaves. The OR has more pointed petals and stays a bit straighter.

FloraPodium on Tour, Breezand, 7 June 2023

Large spheres, small spheres, spheres with bubbles, long stems and short stems. In white, yellow, pink and purple ... alliums! Wietse grows them all! Wietse Mellema from nursery Mts Mellema-Versteeg has 1000 different types of alliums at his nursery. All these varieties created a sight to see during a special visit.
Love and passion
Wietse started growing flowers at the age of 16. A grower with passion for his cultivation and love for his profession. His biggest challenge lies in discovering new varieties. Varieties that are exclusive, with an added value that people recognize and are willing to pay for.

He grows outdoors on large plots of land. Wietse grows different types of tulips on 15 hectares and on 2 hectares there are at least 1000 different types of alliums. And this is what we came for. Most species are used for breeding, his biggest hobby. Only 30 varieties are grown on a small scale for sale. 

FloraPodium on Tour, Creil, 21 June 2022

Agriom has achieved results with its partners in a wide range of ornamental and small fruit crops since starting its breeding activities in 1985. In cooperation with Hydrangea Breeders Association (HBA) they breed Hydrangeas and market them under the name 'Royal'.
The FloraPodium took a look at the garden during the FlowerTrials. Agriom and HBA had put on a great show with the Delphiniums and Hydrangeas. We feasted our eyes again and of course expressed our preference as to which species we would like to see back in the future. 

FloraPodium on Tour, De Kwakel, 16 June 2022

When you visit Ronald Boots' nursery, you actually have to sit down for a few minutes to process all the impressions. An overwhelming and impressive color palette will appear on your retina, which cannot be captured with any camera and which cannot be described with words!

Ronald is the third generation of tulip breeders. He has continued the passion of his father and grandfather in the town of Hem. Ronald has specialized in breeding distinctive, exclusive varieties of tulips, with which he has managed to find his own place in the market.
At an early stage, Ronald produces small numbers, that he offers to a handful of regular customers who test these new varieties and provide feedback.
He grows about 1 million tulips per season from his nursery, which he sells to three exporters in the market.
His growing season is about eight weeks and after these eight weeks he completely focuses on the new crossings and on keeping existing species healthy.
We were very happy to be able to enjoy his nursery and will definitely come back!

FloraPodium on Tour, Hem, 21 april 2022

Joan Wijnen was only 19 when he took over his father's business and his wife Nancy soon joined him in the business. Together they have built up the company into a nursery of more than 5 hectares, where they now grow more than 35 types of anthuriums.
The Anthuriums are available in various sizes, lengths and packaging options (in boxes or on water, possibly also with extra-long stems). They are delivered fresh every day to the Flora Holland auction in Aalsmeer, Rijnsburg, Eelde and Herongen.
Joan Wijnen also finds it important to make the process more sustainable, which is why he is going to use a wood-burning stove, which reduces the use of gas by 1,000,000 m3. The anthuriums are also grown as organically as possible.

FloraPodium on Tour, Asten, 04 maart 2022

During the tulip season we like to visit different growers! A chat, a tour in the greenhouse and we learn something new every time.
And at V.O.F. Bakkum we were warmly welcomed; despite the enormous amount of work they were facing at the time! V.O.F. Bakkum is a true family business; brothers Marcel and Nico Bakkum run the company together with their wives Carola and Rosemary. And their sons also help in the company next to their studies!
V.O.F. Bakkum grows various types of seasonal flowers. In October and November the greenhouses are full of disbudded chrysanthemums. Scilla and Crocus are grown for bulbs and the brothers have also been growing tulips for about ten years.
The majority of the tulips are grown in wooden boxes in potting soil, and a small part in the open soil. The wooden boxes are steamed after each harvest before being planted again in November and December. In the months of January to April they grow various types of tulips, whereby quality is of paramount importance. The entire process of planting, picking and sorting bulbs is done by hand. After all, the human eye is by far the most critical! 

FloraPodium on Tour, Heemskerk, 17 February 2022

We really feel at home with Ben Jansen and Wapke Oostveen of the Tunezo nursery. Last summer we already saw the beautiful Scabiosa, Eremurus, Nerine and Agapanthus. This time we came to take a look at their tulips, and, again, we were so impressed! Ben loves beautiful products and a bit of exclusivity. This means that he regularly has to reinvent his production process and see what fits which product. But therein lies his challenge! Our eye fell on the beautiful pink 'Big Love', a sight for sore eyes! And the beautiful 'Apricot Glow' has the most extraordinary color. Both types are special, small-scale and therefore unique. And Ben and Wapke, make sure the entire work process is done by hand and under the eye of the master. Only the best is good enough!

FloraPodium on Tour, Heemskerk, 17 February 2022

Rick Winter is one of the five members of CoasTulip. CoasTulip is a growers collective. The growers in the collective all grow in full (sandy) soil under the motto: 'together you stand stronger'. We were given an inspiring tour by Rick's mother, who also gives this tour to consumers and other interested people. www.coastulipexperience.nl 

FloraPodium on Tour, Heemskerk, 20 January 2022

At Dutch Lily Masters, almost the entire cultivation process is fully automated. The lilies grow in crates, which are distributed on mobile tables.

The tables that are due to be harvested are removed from the greenhouse by a robot. These tables are then transported into the shed, where the employees are ready to cut the lilies. On average it takes around a week to empty the greenhouse, depending on the variety and the season in which they grow.

One of the advantages of this system is that the flowers can be harvested centrally, which minimizes the risk of damage. After harvesting, they are bunched and prepared for shipment in water, all within one minute, which helps to improve the vase life. Read more about the lilium Euphoria. 

FloraPodium on Tour, Rijnsburg,11 November 2021

Kroon Flowers is a family business that has been involved in the horticultural industry for over 100 years. Martien grows three varieties of heavy Dutch quality Eryngium, all three varieties with an exclusive character. Eryngium 'Lovely White Green', Eryngium 'Blue Lagoon' and Eryngium zabelii 'Donard Variety'. In addition, Martien grows lavender and peonies on a small scale.  

FloraPodium on Tour, Abbenes, 18 June 2021

Dirk Alderden is a grower who grows his products with love and passion. He has several beautiful rose varieties that have an English nostalgic look, some of which with a lovely fragrance.  He grows in the old-fashioned way in the open ground, without a heating system in the greenhouse. This means that his roses grow the natural way, relying on the warmth of the sun. The spring has been exceptionally cold this year, and for that reason his cultivation started later and the stems are a bit shorter. This year, Alderden has expanded his range with some new varieties. He grows all varieties on a small scale, so the numbers are exclusive and limited.

FloraPodium on Tour, Aalsmeer, 29 April 2021

On Thursday the 20th of May 2021 Jan visited Monarch Flowers in Naaldwijk, The plant sales company Green Works from the town of Schagen has a nursery there for the Butterfly Ranunculus and also a trial set-up for the Ranunculus Romance series. Both the Butterfly and the Romance series originate from the Japanese breeder Aya Engei. The Butterfly has been on the market in The Netherlands for 6 years now and was first imported from Portugal and Italy. The nursery in Naaldwijk grows exclusively for the Dutch market. There are no other growers in the Netherlands. In this way they control the plant material themselves and can grow the purest product possible. The crops of the Butterfly and Romance species are a sight for sore eyes.

FloraPodium on Tour, 's-Gravenzande,  1 April 2021