“This is the place to be,” said Fedor Broers when I asked him why he had come all the way from his farm in Ecuador to the Aalsmeer auction. He cast his eyes across the five-hundred-plus-seated hall up at the triple screens of auction clocks, and then down to the trains of linked flower carts snaking along the floor. “I use the auction as a display for my flowers. That way everybody can get a look. This place is like a global showcase.” On his balance sheet, Fedor doesn't earn much money at FloraHolland. Most of this Dutch grower's flowers head directly from his greenhouses near Quito to U.S. destinations in Florida and California. But because Aalsmeer enjoys a central place in the global market, Fedor sells some of his flowers here, promoting his product and getting feedback. And just as important, he maintains regular contact with the Dutch institution – keeping abreast with its innovations in breeding, growing, and marketing, as well as with its exporters, importers, and of course, its auctions.

Over fifty percent of all the cut flowers and plants sold on earth move through the Netherlands, with shipments arriving at Schiphol airport, a few kilometers away, from points as far off as Israel, Ethiopia, and Ecuador. But most of the flowers are still grown locally, amid the flat, patchwork distances of West Holland. Aalsmeer's auction is located right in the thick of things, close to Westland's greenhouses, and with easy access to air freight for imports and exports. Walking along the floor of this one million cubic meter space might feel odd to the newcomer, like you are inside an airplane hangar instead of a bustling commercial center, or, given all the gadgets and movement, almost like you are inside a Borg cube, albeit a cube full of flowers.