A New Way of Looking at Spring

Ahhh, spring! It's the loveliest time of the year! Who knows this better than the Dutch?

The Aalsmeer Flower Auction - the largest in the world

We'd heard a lot about this flower auction in North Holland, so the following morning, Dan and I decide to go there and see it for ourselves. We enter the building, and walk onto an upper landing. Over the railing, to the floor below, lots of activity is taking place. Plants and blooms of every kind are being packaged to be shipped this morning by truck or plane to countries around the world.

Bidding Business

As we keep walking, we come to the auction rooms where the buyers from Holland and nearby countries gather to make their bids and purchases. These buyers consist of shop owners, street vendors, wholesale marketers, and exporters. If you plan to participate, you have to be an early riser, since the auctioning begins at 6:45 AM. The bidding continues through the morning until the last of the flowers have made their way past the careful eyes of the buyers. 

We gaze around the room and find things in full swing. At the front of these five rooms, huge clocks hang on the walls. Each clock is designated for a particular produce. The clocks indicate the cost of an item, the minimum and maximum amounts allowed to be purchased, and other specifications.

Flowers Galore

Carts of baby's breath, tulips, roses, etc., are constantly moving into, through, and out of the auction rooms by way of rails. And as carts of flowers pass through, the bidders make their choices. When a buyer sees something he wants to purchase, he presses the button at his desk, and his number lights up on the clock. The large indicator begins to move to the left, showing the price is lowering.    


Tense Timing
Tension rises among the bidders. Others also have their eye on those velvety-red tulips, but their aim is to buy them at the lowest possible price. The competition increases among the merchants. When the dial reaches the amount they're willing to pay, they press the button at their seat to stop the dial. Whoever's the first to press their button, that person's buying number lights up on the clock, and. . . He's the winner! And the four boxes of the prized tulips are his! 

Now he, in turn, can make a profit by selling them to others, such as: to the young man to give to his sweetheart, to a woman to give to her hostess, or to an older child to give to his mother. 


Flowers make beautiful gifts, and delight the recipients. Blooms of every color--that's what Holland is all about. Dan and I come away from the auction having experienced a whole new aspect of spring and of flowers.

The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them.; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.

It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: . . . they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Isaiah 35:1,2