For many years, Holland (the Netherlands) has been known abroad as the country of water, wooden shoes, windmills and bicycles.

Especially as a result of a very good organisation and also because of an advertisement campaign by the Flower Council of Holland, our country has become widely known as a flower (exporting) country.

Not only the quality of these products are of a very high standard, but also their subsequent use. Many well-known Dutch floral designers regularly
travel around the world to give demonstrations.
This way of arranging is known abroad as Dutch Floral Design and is very highly thought of by many foreigners.

Many foreign florists and students come to Holland from all over the world to see and learn from this method at exhibitions and trade fairs.

If they want to follow a good professional course in Dutch flower design, then Holland is the only possible country in which to do that.

1980 - 2005
Boerma Instituut

P.O. Box 297
1430 AG Aalsmeer

Legmeerdijk 227
Aalsmeer

Phone

+31 (0)20-4415306

Fax

+31 (0)20-4415315

Boerma Instituut in Aalsmeer (only 1500 meters from the world's largest Flower Auction and only a few minutes from Schiphol, Amsterdam Airport, offers all possibilities in this field.

Boerma Instituut is the only International Floral Design School in Holland, and at this level probably the only one in the world!

It is also the only privately owned school in Holland especially built  for the study of floral design.
It has three instruction rooms and its own bar facilities.

All courses at Boerma Instituut give you many new ideas and will be the gateway to a fresh and new way of thinking and working with flowers.

E-mail

info@boerma.nl

Internet

www.dutchfloral
design.com

www.floraldesign
supplies.com

During the early years of the Boerma Instituut, the Professional course was only conducted in Dutch.
In 1985 we slowly started to conduct courses in English. Everything just went into fast gear after that.

From all over the world professionals have come to our school, individually as well as in groups.

The teachers of Boerma Instituut have also taught, given workshops and demonstrations in many countries of the world and that has certainly helped enormously.

Here below is a list of countries of origin of our (former) international students. We have left out most of the more familiar western European countries because of the space factor.

Tsjechowaskia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Romania, Poland, Kazchastan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Lebanon, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, Pakistan, Japan, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Southern Africa, Canada, The whole of United states and Hawaii, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina.

From this list you can see there is an increasing demand for
flowers world-wide!!!...

from all over the world

some students visit the tourist atractions in the weekend

As soon as you enter Boerma Instituut you will notice something special.
Not only is the school small and intimate
but also the atmosphere is different.

You will never get the feeling of being back at school
sitting in school benches.

Our school is located at the Legmeerdijk 227 (N231), right in the hart of the worlds biggest flower central, Aalsmeer.
Just 1500 meters from the head-entrance of the VBA (Verenigde Bloemenveiling Aalsmeer) in the direction of Amstelveen.

Aalsmeer area

Here we have turned a classroom ‘block’ into a admirable
flower design school.
Right next to the entrance there is a special floral Design book shop where you can buy floral design books and all kinds of flower arranging materials, you can have a look at our wide range of floral design books,
and maybe discover some new ideas.

After all, what would an International Floral Design School be without floral design books? Our shop is opened during course-days, or you can arrange an appointment by phone to come and visit us 
We also have a comfortable and inviting  bar, Café de Mijnen.

The good thing about this, is that the students feel right at home,  because of this the students always  come back to school with lots of enthusiasm.

Our shop

and the books

For over 27 years now, the Boerma Instituut has been specialized in giving national and international professional floristry courses.

Our teachers are very experienced and capable in teaching, demonstrations and giving workshops, in country’s all over the world.

Please note that teaching a professional floristry course, is a very specialized job, that demands a skilful teacher:
In experience, knowledge, motivation and enthusiasm. Let these words help you to decide where you want to pursue your career in floristry.

To give as much information to you as we can, the Boerma Instituut doesn’t only hand out brochures and leaflets, we also have a, so called
Open House

During these days, the Boerma Instituut is opened from

12.00 till 16.00 hours.

There will be demonstrations in floral art, given by our teachers or (former) students. So, why not drop by and have a look around, compare and see for yourself. You will soon be convinced that flower arranging is our speciality.

2003 demonstration during the reunion

After 13 years of teaching at secondary school level, we decided to establish the Boerma Instituut in 1980. This was not so difficult as I had already run my own school since 1972.

At  first I did this together with my wife José.
A few years later our two daughters Jacqueline and Nicolle  joined us.
Firstly as jacks of all trades, later as fully qualified teachers. Together we have built a good name for the Instituut. Not only in the Netherlands, but in other parts of the world as well. We have developped our courses in house and think up new innovations regularly. We travel around the world giving workshops and demonstrations in Dutch Floral Design.

A few years ago our team was strengthened with other fully qualified teachers and office staff people. Most of them now travel the world too, when needed.

Alongside our fixed team of family members we rely on the help of other well known floral artists. We have gathered a number of
Dutch, European and World Champions in the past few years,
who will assist us when we need their help.

Theo & José Boerma during the Master Course in 2003

Jacqueline attended the Course for European Judging in Floral Design organised by the FEUPF.
officially the Fédération Européenne des Unions Professionnelles de Fleuristes or the European Federation Union of Professional Florists held in Amsterdam March 2008. On 29th of March, she was awarded the title and thus officially recognised by the organisation as an European Judge in Floral Design.

Frans Mank was the Course leader. The contestants came from
different countries:
János Szabó; Hungary
Isabel Wilton en Susan Wills - Pope; England
Sergey Malyuchenko, Elena Zakharova, Anna Yemelyanova,
Alexander (Sasha) Bermyakov,
Natalia Koryakina en Ksenia Vinogradova; Russia
Monika Kudłacz; Poland
Hanneke Frankema & Jacqueline from the Netherlands.

The Boerma Instituut is a member of the VBW (Vereniging Bloemist Winkeliers) (or the Dutch Union of Florist shopkeepers) which is also part of the  FEUPF. In the Netherlands, there are more then 1400 florist shopkeepers who are members of this organisation.

The main goal of the VBW is to improve and advance the entrepreneurial perspectives and business activities in the floral industry.

 The Boerma Instituut is also a member of the World Flower Council or the WFC. The WFC is an international organisation with members from 29 countries all of whom are involved in the floral industry.
They seek to promote world peace through the beauty of flowers and facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge amongst professionals in the flower industry. In short the WFC seeks to promote:

The exchange of design ideas and techniques amongst professionals throughout the world.

Study in the latest information and development in the care of flowers.

Student exchange programme, in order that the students of the flower trade can meet their peers from other countries.

The meeting of people from all over the world and to seek out mew sources and products.

The spread of knowledge of the flower industry world wide.

Contacts and friendships amongst professionals of the floral industry.

World peace through undertaking together the study in the beauty of flowers.

An annual meeting organised for its members somewhere in the world. In 2008 it will be in Macau from the 19^th till 23^rd of September. 

Foot-note
According to Wim Meulenman, the director of Euroflorist Holland. The Professional Diploma of the Boerma Instituut is “Euroflorist proof”.

In the Netherlands, there are about 1100 florist who use EuroFlorist in the transport of flowers and floral works both locally and internationally.
This international floral transport organisation celebrated their
25th anniversary in October 2007 in Barcelona. It was a special and inspiring weekend for all involved. (for more details go to Jacqueline)

Jacqueline & Frans

Frans Mank
thank you for the photo's