2005 Newsletter Jan - Apr, Page 32, Springtime in Vancouver, Floral Design Institute, Floral design school, floral school, floral classes, floral supplies, floral videos, home study, wedding design

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My very favorite springtime getaway is a long weekend in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vancouver is a beautiful city with an incredible skyline, snow capped mountains, marvelous ocean views, gorgeous gardens, fabulous dining, super shopping and most important to me, flowers - lots and lots of wonderful, beautiful flowers. When you walk any retail street in the west end of Vancouver you see cut flowers for sale everywhere. The scene will remind you of Paris or Amsterdam.

There is a joke in the floral industry that every Dutch grower has sent a son or daughter to Vancouver to grow flowers. It may not be a joke. The Frazer Valley just outside of Vancouver is home to some of the largest and most sophisticated flower growing operations in the world and many of them are owned by Dutch descendants. The Flower Auction in Burnaby is the largest wholesale flower auction in the western hemisphere and is always a part of my trip to Vancouver. (More about visiting the flower auction later) It is amazing to see first hand the impact that a large flower growing community and Dutch styled flower auction can have on a consumer market. The flower auction is effectively a single exchange between the grower and the retailer which results in lower prices for the consumer. There is more availability and variety of flowers for the consumer which results in more sales, which results in lower prices, which results in more demand and even more sales. The consumer flower market in Vancouver is as near to the European market as you can get in this hemisphere.

I always prefer to take the train when I travel to Vancouver. When you drive or fly your vacation doesn't start until you arrive. When you take the train, your vacation begins the minute you step on board. Amtrak #510 leaves Seattle at 7:45AM and arrives in Vancouver at 11:40AM, just in time for lunch. The train is modern, comfortable, serves very good food and the scenery is fantastic. One of the great things about train travel is that train stations are downtown. A five minute taxi ride will take you to any of the downtown core hotels. I drop my luggage at the hotel and quickly head out to one of my favorite Vancouver destinations, Granville Island. It’s a beautiful day and after four hours on the train, I’m ready for a walk. At the southwest end of Hornby Street is a dock for the Aquabus. These colorful little commuter boats holding a maximum of 12 people are the best way to get to and from Granville Island. Yes, you could take a taxi or the bus, but that’s no fun.

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