Boerma Instituut International Dutch Floral Design School, North Holland Province, The Netherlands

5David S 5:00 PM Oct 1, 2018

International Professional Dutch Floral Design Course (in English)
I retired after working 34 years from an oil and gas company. I have always been interested in flowers and floral design, and so, my endeavor was to find a suitable floral design school. I researched and then chose to enroll at the Boerma Instituut® International Floral Design School in Aalsmeer, Netherlands. My decision was based on the following: - Boerma was located in the flower region of the Netherlands and provided classes in English to International students. They have other teaching establishments worldwide. - I wanted to learn from an institution that uses current trends and pushes the boundaries forward in floral design. I could have chosen a lower cost alternative closer to home but the attraction of a European leading-edge floral design school was a higher unique selling point for me. - The Boerma family have been in the flower cultivation and floristry education since 1896. They have been in this business for five generations. - They have three levels of certification, with each level building upon the last, to take a student from the fundamentals to a world-class floral designer. I completed the Professional Dutch Floral Design course (English) and passed the exam in Sept. 2018. It was one of my best learning experiences due to: - The course is structured to provide a student with the required base knowledge to become a competent member of the floral industry. - The teachers have many years of pertinent floristry experience and are always incorporating new trends, ideas and materials into the curriculum. - Keen focus on getting the fundamental techniques and rules correct. Assigned homework and teachers’ critique provide additional learning, as well as, increasing the student’s confidence and speed. - There is an abundance of fresh flowers, greens and decorative materials provided to the students. All floral arrangements created by the students can be taken home. - The students are exposed to an extensive floral design knowledge base – published and real-life examples. This includes an onsite floral reference library, school trips to the Keukenhof, Fleuramour, the Aalsmeer flower auction, the Dutch Floral Cup competition and guest teachers. - Focus on theory – colour theory, learning how to care for live floral materials, and the botanical names of flowers and green materials. I look forward to joining Level 2 (Advanced Dutch Floral Design professional course) to learn more in-depth skills. David Sims, Calgary Alberta Canada