Land-use planning in the Netherlands is extremely complex, with most of the population living on land reclaimed from the sea. Arguably the most planned country in Europe, the Netherlands is slightly more than twice the area of Yorkshire, with a third of its landmass below sea level. Dutch engagement with challenging and unforgiving natural conditions has resulted in a markedly artificial landscape of tidy towns and crisp agrarian geometry that masks the grudging surrender of the North Sea, kept at bay by extensive networks and systems that are ever-present reminders of the landscape's constructed nature. A broad awareness of its unique origin, fragility and relative scarcity gives added significance to every spatial intervention within this landscape. In such a controlled environment the Dutch international horticultural exhibition or ‘Floriade’ operates with closer links to existing planning policies than counterpart events elsewhere.

The landscape design that has graced this recovered landscape has been worthy of the sustained effort to reclaim the land, and Dutch horticultural history is one of great renown. The Dutch canal gardens of the seventeenth century and the Régence gardens of the eighteenth, through to the ecologically minded styles of the modern era, bespeak the Netherlands’ significant role in the development of landscape architecture. In addition to design methods, however, the Dutch are also noted for introducing rare and exotic flowers into garden parterres. To say that they have long had a passion for plant material may be an understatement, for this is the country where, during the height of ‘tulipomania’, a single bulb could be sold for the price of a townhouse. While today's economics of floriculture are somewhat more sober, it is still the case that the horticultural industry constitutes a remarkable 5 per cent of the gross national product of the Netherlands.

The Floriades, then, arrive with high expectations and responsibil -ities. They must accommodate stringent planning laws, vigorously promote the horticultural industry and sustain the high standards of Dutch garden tradition. Generally, horticultural exhibitions are programmed to promote the host region's qualities and trade on its characteristics. But the Floriades connect more with national horti -cultural standards and achievements. They are, for the Dutch, the supreme exposition of garden culture. This, coupled with the fact that they come along only once every ten years, makes them greatly anticipated events.