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This designer is flooding the streets of Melbourne with free tulips

Waste not want not - by Diana Moore
  • 05 Oct 2018
This designer is flooding the streets of Melbourne with free tulips
Getty images

Artist, designer and eco warrior Joostbakker has overnight planted 35,000 tulips in Melbourne’s  #hosierlane after his flower-growing family deemed them not good enough to sell from their farm in Monbulk.

“When he said he was throwing them out I said no way!”

Joost Bakker Artist, designer

Dutch-born, Melbourne based Bakker, along with a band of merry helpers filled trucks with the sub-standard crop and crept into the laneway famed for its street art. 

The florist then spent the early hours of this morning lining the sides with crates overflowing with thousands of tulips in full bloom, beneath a vibrant canvas of urban art.

“For me this installation is about making people aware that there’s a thriving industry with more than a thousand growers in this country,” said Bakker on his Instagram feed as light hit the site this morning. “It’s currently under a lot of pressure from imported flowers with some estimating close to 70% of flowers sold in Australia are imported.”

cityofmelbourne View Profile
2,138 likes - View Post on Instagram
Hosier Lane is even more colourful this morning. These tulips have been put here by local flower growers to remind the city to shop local! Head down and grab some so they don't go to waste.
joostbakker View Profile
4,257 likes - View Post on Instagram
just planted 35,000 tulips in #hosierlane my family grow them in Monbulk and my brother said these were not quite good enough to sell.. when he said he was throwing them out I said no way! So we spent the early hours of this morning bringing them into town. For me this installation is about making people aware that there's a thriving industry with more than a thousand growers in this country. It's currently under a lot of pressure from imported flowers with some estimating close to 70% of flowers sold in Australia are imported. When you buy flowers please ask 'are they grown locally? Are they in season?' These two things make a purchase much more sustainable. Support a brilliant industry and the next generation of flower growers #thinklocal thankYOU @cityofmelbourne for giving me permission to do this so quickly too! And thanks also to Koomen's flowers for lending their trucks this morning! I'll be on @abcinmelbourne at 7:25 talking about the flower industry and the challenges of cheap imports. #buylocal #nowaste #zerowaste #flowersbyjoost

As the day unfolded, visitors to the site were invited to "pick their own" blooms and the installation gradually began to deplete as hundreds of people joyfully filled their arms with the lush red blooms, with hundreds more enjoying the spectacle on social media, spreading Bakker's words of community and sustainability.

“When you buy flowers please ask ‘are they grown locally? Are they in season?’ These two things make a purchase much more sustainable,” Bakker encouraged.

joostbakker View Profile
1,287 likes - View Post on Instagram
35,000 tulips almost gone! #LOVEYOURWORK #MELBOURNE

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Diana Moore
Diana Moore
Content expert, florist and interior decorator Diana Moore has been passionate about helping others make the perfect home ever since she moved into her own. From styling her local bar to feel like your best friend’s lounge room, to randomly restyling people’s bookshelves, Diana is a firm believer in making the best of what you have in front of you.

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