[press release]
Botanical gardens bloom on new stamp sheetlet
The Hague, 25 April 2017 – PostNL is issuing a new stamp sheetlet to mark the occasion of the Year of the Botanical Gardens in 2017. The stamps feature ten special plants and trees. These crown jewels are all from botanical gardens in the Netherlands.
The Netherlands has more than thirty botanical gardens, twenty-four of which are members of The Dutch Foundation of Botanical Gardens (NVBT). The Foundation has dedicated 2017 to highlighting the most unique, unusual and threatened species of plants and trees. The gardens are home to 47,000 types of plants and trees from all over the world.
Individual character visible on stamp
From a selection of around one hundred possible plants and trees, designer Robbert Zweegman choose ten ‘crown jewels’ for the new stamp sheetlet. He had nature photographer Edwin Giesbers photograph all of them individually. “This makes visible the individual character of the plant or tree, as a symbol for the botanical garden. You also avoid the distraction of the environment; you have no context and no other plants nearby,” says Zweegman, explaining the choice of the images.
Renowned botanical gardens on stamp sheetlet
The stamps feature well-known plants and trees. These include the deadly nightshade (Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam), black false hellebore (Holland Open Air Museum Arnhem), the yellow pitcher plant (Kerkrade Botanical Garden), the purple coneflower (Hortus Alkmaar) and the orange trumpet vine (Utrecht Botanical Gardens). Zweegman also chose to include the Latin name of each plant or tree in the design. In doing so, he is referring to the Swedish plant expert Carl Linnaeus, who classified plants and trees into logical categories in the 18th century and assigned them a two-part Latin name.
Availability
The ‘Botanical Gardens in the Netherlands’ stamp sheetlet consists of ten stamps marked with ‘Nederland 1’, which can be used for items weighing up to 20g destined for mail in the Netherlands. These stamps will be available from 24 April at all Bruna shops and via Collectclub.nl. The stamps are valid until further notice. 
