A Dutch gardener waters a tulip garden in the Royal Flora 2006 Ratchaphruek yesterday to prepare for the grand opening today.

Workers at the international horticultural exhibition were racing against the clock yesterday to make everything as perfect as they can before HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presides over the exhibition's opening ceremony today.

Banpot Hongthong, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, said yesterday he was satisfied with the progress of the exhibition that was 99 per cent completed. He expected everything to be finished before noon today.

Apart from one area in the Organisation Garden Zone, the whole 470 rai of the Royal Flora 2006 Ratchaphruek was ready to welcome honorary guests from 54 countries at the opening ceremony. Among the guests will be the agriculture ministers of eight countries, 46 ambassadors and executives of international organisations, including the International Association of Horticultural Producers and the Bureau of International Expositions.

On the eve of the opening ceremony, trucks carrying plants and flowers were still dashing in and out of the exhibition site to complete the decorations. Some workers were rushing to paint signs and poles, while some were doing their best to repair parts of the walkways with tarmac.

Running until the end of January, the Royal Flora show's main organiser, the Department of Agriculture (DOA), expects 30,000 people to visit the exposition each day.

Though a stunning array of rare plants and flowers will be on display, visitors might be disappointed in missing out on some that they were promised.

Due to strong sunshine and high temperatures, tulips, which are eagerly sought by aficionados, unfortunately bloomed early. After being kept in cool greenhouses inside the exhibition area for almost a week, the flowers, which require the cold winter season to grow, were only yesterday morning planted at the booth of the Netherlands.

Though shelters were provided to prevent the flowers being exposed to the strong sunshine, the 32-degree Celsius temperature of Chiang Mai made them blossom. The flowers will last only one week. Those who are unable to see the beauty of the tulip within the first week might have to wait until next month when the next set of the flowers will be planted on December 11, and for the third time in January.

While tulips are early bloomers, the flower of the Ohga-hasu, the ancient lotus of Japan, is late to come out. Found underground at Kemigawa, Chiba Prefecture in 1951, seeds of Ohga-hasu believed to be 2,000 years old were germinated and flowered again by a leading Japanese botanist. As this is not the season for the lotus, which measures 23-28 centimetres in diameter and contains between 14 and 20 petals, visitors will have to wait to appreciate its beautiful leaves grown in a traditional Japanese garden.

However, many other rare plants are waiting at the Royal Flora. They include the Wollemia nobilis, the famed Australian pine tree which dates back to the era of the dinosaurs. Bottle trees, also from Australia, are a remarkable tree with a bottle-shaped bole that can actually retain water, and Alcantarea imperialis, widely known among Thais as the colourful pineapple, is the second largest Bromiliad, and one of Brazil's most spectacular plants.

Tens thousands of pots of colourful flowers have been installed everywhere for visitors to have their pictures taken.

Besides trees and plants, which the organisers said total 2.5 million, visitors can enjoy the beauty of unique architecture from various countries. The Royal Pavilion constructed in the Lanna architectural style marks the "heart" of the exhibition. The pavilion displays an exhibition honouring His Majesty the King. The Chinese traditional building in the Tang Dynasty style and the Bhutan traditional building are expected to be crowded with visitors.

A representative of Laos said his wooden pavilion built in traditional Luang Prabang style and costing US$300,000 (Bt11.4 million) invites all visitors who might be exhausted by the strong sunshine to rest inside. Laotian coffee is also served there.

Pennapa Hongthong

The Nation

CHIANG MAI