Canberra's Floriade is celebrated by Australia Post
Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Canberra's Floriade is celebrated by Australia Post, with its recently released Floral Festivals Australia stamp issue.
The five 60c stamps feature colourful photographic depictions of popular flower species - the gerbera, jacaranda, Australian everlasting, violet and tulip - representing five floral festivals.
"Canberra's Floriade is an engaging event for gardening enthusiasts and the local community, and has become a major tourist attraction. This floral festival with its spectacular mass plantings is represented on the stamp by the tulip," said Australia Post's Philatelic Manager, Mr Michael Zsolt.
"We anticipate that the beautiful designs in this stamp issue will appeal to a great number of people and we expect to see many 'flowers' travelling through the post now that these stamps are available," said Mr Zsolt.
More than a million bulbs and annuals are planted so that they bloom in time for the spring festival, among which are some 80-odd varieties of tulip, a bloom that has become the signature flower of Floriade. The mass planting of spring flowers in Canberra's Commonwealth Park attracts thousands of visitors annually. The show changes each year, with a new theme ensuring continued variety and interest. Floriade 2011 will run from 17 September to 16 October.
The flowers featured in the stamp issue represent festivals in urban and regional areas across the country. These festivals draw attention and participation nationally and internationally and are important to the culture and economy of their communities.
Floral Festivals Australia includes the gerbera, representing the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show; the jacaranda for the Grafton Jacaranda Festival; the Australian everlasting for Perth's Kings Park Festival; the violet for the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers; and the tulip for Canberra's Floriade.
Adam Crapp of the Australia Post Design Studio designed the stamp issue. Adam's previous stamp designs include Australian Antarctic Territory: Macquarie Island (2010).
The stamp issue products for Floral Festivals Australia are a stamp pack, set of five maxicards, prestige booklet, aerogramme, self-adhesive booklet of 20 x 60c stamps, self-adhesive roll of stamps and international postage-paid envelopes. The stamp issue is available from participating Australia Post retail outlets, via mail order on 1800 331 794 or online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last.
