Human Flower Project

Sunday, February 19, 2006

For the Winners

The 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino feature chutzpah and camellias, a Chinese native that thrives in the Piemonte.

Florence Baverel-Robert of France earned a gold medal and
an Olympic bouquet for her 7.5 km sprint in the Women’s
Biathlon February 16, in Cesana San Sicario, Italy.
Photo: Rudi Blaha, for AP

Gold, silver, bronze—medals commemorate. But flower glorify.

At the Winter Olympics, now underway in Torino, all the champions bow to receive their prizes, accept bunches of flowers, stand attentively for the winner’s national anthem, and then, at last, salute the crowd by holding up their bouquets. It’s the crowning moment of the games.

At these Olympics we’ve noticed that the flowers are elegant, tasteful and a bit understated, just as one would expect from Italian designers. Further, the winners’ bouquets feature flower varieties that Piemonte growers have been assiduously hybridizing for well over a hundred years. Some 200 growers from 96 towns in the region supplied the beautiful camellias, rhododendrons, azaleas and other blooms for the Torino Olympics. The flower ceremony thus celebrates not only bobsledders and ice dancers but florists and farmers too.

Castle and garden Isola Bella, Italy
Photo: Priyain Milan

We would have thought the subalpine air a bit nippy for such successful flower production, but we were wrong. “Mild and temperate climate, lack of persistent fog, too hot summers or prolonged intense cold” make this region ideal for “acidophiles” (acid-lovers) like azaleas, the very plants that rarely make one lap around the calendar in our own limey neighborhood. 

As well, this beautiful lake region has for centuries been a favorite of aristocratic types, who built sumptuous gardens and hired skilled horticulturists who could perfect varieties to live happily in this part of the world. Flower growers here have been “in training” a long time for the Torino Olympics.

Thanks to Mauro Gentile of the Commune de Torino. Mauro informed us that Lago Maggiore Fiori is in charge of arranging flowers for the international games. It’s a commission worthy of a medal or two.

In addition to the 3520 bouquets for winning athletes, Lake Maggiore Flowers designs and supplies “5,000 bowls for the reception desks located in the Olympic Family hospitality areas; 120 centrepieces for the buffet areas; 550 floral arrangements for guests and authorities attending the games” and more. There are seventy florists working on the event.

The Bahamian team won the Women’s 4 x 100-metre relay (and some marvelous pink flowers) at Sydney’s Olympic Games, September 2000.
Behind the Scenes

The Italian designers have featured winter camellias, pink, white, and red. (These are the heavenly flowers that Texas gardener Pete Walicek said were “too pretty to smell.”) But in contrast with many other Olympics, the bouquets of 2006 are primarily green. Consider the contrast with Salt Lake City, Utah, (Winter Olympics 2002) whose flowers hollered American style with primary colors:  yellow sunflowers, yellow roses, a few spots of red and delphiniums royal blue.

Just for fun, we offer a few more Olympic flowers, from Sydney’s games, dominated by something exotic and pink (readers, please help), and of course the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where flowers brilliantly surrendered pride of place to the winners’ classical laurel leaf crowns.

The Italians won the 2006 Men’s Cross Country 4x10k relay, raising their flowers to salute the crowd, as snow fell on Pragelato Plan.
Photo: Anja Niedringhaus, for AP

Initially, we were a bit disappointed that the Torino bouquets were so subdued, but as the days have passed, the winners claimed their honors, we finally see it. These clusters of deep green, dashed with red and white, are the colors of the Italian flag. They also look crisp and elegant against theatres of ice and backdrops of white mountains.

To the growers  and florists of Northern Italy, and all the winners, Congratulazioni!