As an event design firm with a focus in florals and branding, we use flowers for almost every event we design. Our events team and design team work hand-in-hand to order flowers, create arrangements and bring our clients' visions to life.

B Floral is located just one short block walk from the Flower Market on 28th street, so we never have to go very far to secure the flowers for our events. Our design team is in constant contact with floral vendors at the Flower Market to ensure we procure our clients the freshest and most vibrant flowers.

A couple of months ago one of our favorite floral vendors, FleuraMetz reached out and invited part of our team to come to Holland to tour the FleuraMetz facility, attend two well known floral trades hows and to meet several growers. To be able to see where our flowers actually come from was a dream come true!

On November 5th our team landed in Holland and were picked up by Kaas at FleuraMetz. He took us directly to the The Aalsmeer Flower Auction. The Aalsmeer Flower Auction is the largest floral auction in the world! Here, we toured the facility, watched the floral auction in real time, and witnessed how the flowers are bought, packaged and shipped. To think that the flowers we buy in the market every day have to go through so many steps to get to us was very eye-opening!

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Following our tour of The Aalsmeer Flower Auction, we headed to Laan Tulips. Laan Tulips is a family owned hydroponic tulip nursery. Here, we toured the facility and were completely enamored with the efficiency of the operation. There was not a single inch that wasn't used! Nearly the whole process was automated and moved like clockwork.

Our second day in Holland we had some free time so our team headed into the beautiful city of Utrecht. Utrecht was just a quick bus ride from our hotel in Vianen.

We shopped, then popped into the famous Saint Martin's Cathedral and enjoyed a leisurely late lunch.

On Wednesday and Thursday we had the opportunity to visit two fantastic orchid growers.

Our first stop was at Anco pure Vanda. These are air root orchids, originating in Thailand. The facilities at Anco pure Vanda were, again, incredibly impressive. The entrance of the Anco pure Vandal facility paid homage to Thailand, where the growers initially import the orchids from.

Our second orchid experience was at Peet Zwink nursery! Here, 'Peet' himself took us around his greenhouse and showed us all of the different varieties his team grows. Peet has also created several of his own orchid varieties. After the tour of his nursery, Peet and his wife, Kate, invited us into their home for tea and dessert. It was the most amazing afternoon!

During our time in Holland, we also had the privilege of attending two incredible floral trade shows. Here, floral wholesalers showed off their product through unique and intricate designs. Our team took hundreds of photos for inspiration.

We wrapped up our time in Holland visiting the vibrant and gorgeous city of Amsterdam. We went to the Amsterdam flower market, which was right in the center of 'town.' In general, the architecture and beauty of Amsterdam was overwhelming.

After our busy week were exhausted and overwhelmed with appreciation and awe. We can not thank FleuraMetz enough for inviting us to such an invigorating and eye-opening experience. Until next time, Holland!