WHERE FLOWERS FLOAT

Today is Garden Day in SA, a day, say its organisers, to “down tools, wear a flower crown and celebrate your green space”. As a nod to that, here is a botanical celebration from another part of the world, perhaps a bucket-list item for diehard gardeners and flower fans.

It takes place every year in April/May on an island in the North Atlantic. About 520km west of Morocco, the island is an autonomous region of Portugal. Thanks to the sailors and settlers who brought plants here over centuries from all over the world, and the subtropical climate in which they thrive, it boasts an incredible variety of botanic species and is sometimes referred to as the “floating garden of the Atlantic”.

Since 1979, it has been throwing a spring flower festival in the capital Funchal, a striking spectacle that includes a parade replete with flower floats, colourful costumes and dancers, floral exhibitions and a market. A moving part of the festivities is the ceremony in which more than 1,000 children parade towards the main square to put a flower in the “Wall of Hope” ,a symbolic call for peace in the world.

Besides its flowers, the island is famed for its eponymous wine, embroidery, as well as its New Year’s Eve celebrations, purportedly the largest fireworks display in the world.

Next year’s flower festival takes place between April 27 and May 21.

To stand a chance of winning R500, tell us the name of the island. Email your answer to travelquiz@sundaytimes.co.za before noon on October 11. Last week’s winner is Hermione van der Kouwe . The correct answer was Oahu.