Floriade's blooming wonderful sending off

All of those flowers have to go somewhere.

With the annual floral spectacle that is Floriade over for another year, work is already under way to transform Commonwealth Park back to its original state.

Apprentice gardener Liam Gallagher trimming blooms after the end of Floriade. Picture: Karleen Minney

That involves moving the more than 1 million bulbs that had been planted for this year's event.

Just a day after the last visitor left the event, more than 100 volunteers were back at the site helping remove the sea of tulips, poppies and pansies.

Rather than going to waste, however, most of the flowers were bundled up into bouquets and boxes, ready to be taken to hospitals, nursing homes and community organisations across the city.

Floriade's head gardener, Andrew Forster, said the initiative was a chance to bring the event to people who hadn't had the chance to see the blooms for themselves.

"For the people who were unable to get to Floriade, seeing their smiling faces when they see the flowers is a great moment," Mr Forster said.

"It's a chance for Floriade to live on."

Lifelline volunter Joh Mungoven takes blooms away after the Floriade event ends. Picture: Karleen Minney

Secateurs and shovels in hand, an army of hi-vis-clad volunteers carrying wheelbarrows and boxes started clearing out the floral displays that had been a fixture at Commonwealth Park for several weeks.

For many of the volunteers, it was also the chance to secure their own blooms from Floriade, a small payment of thanks for their weeks of work.

Griffith resident Suzanne Jedryk said she was looking to get some flowers for the home, but also to help out others.

"There's an old lady who lives by herself on our street, and we thought we'd take round some of the flowers to her," she said.

Volunteers trim blooms and dig up bulbs after Floriade ends. Picture: Karleen Minney

Volunteers will have just three days to take out all of the blooms before four weeks of work begin to restore Commonwealth Park back to normal.

While it was still too early for exact numbers, senior director of events at Events ACT, Ross Triffit, said he was expecting a good crowd size.

"We've been very fortunate with fantastic weather and fantastic crowds, and we're anticipating a good result this year," Mr Triffit said.

While Floriade may only be just over for 2019, work for Floriade 2020 has already been under way for several months.