Festivalgoers have been left disappointed by Floriade's diminished footprint this year, despite organisers maintaining there are the same number of flowers.
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After it was rained out last Thursday and Friday, tens of thousands of people flocked to the ACT's annual celebration of spring across the October long weekend.
But many were left disappointed by the flower show and the ticketed NightFest, citing fewer flowers and lights than previous years.
"On the whole the NightFest was a great disappointment. The lights were average with a few tulips changing colour in a water pond and some mushroom type lights set out and changed into a couple of colours. We have better lighting in our backyard," one woman wrote on Floriade's Facebook page.
"We came from Sydney, got a hotel, walked down to NightFest, and left 20 mins later! There was no light show, just two gardens with very average lights, and then some random lights in trees. What the?" another said.
"Attended on Tuesday and I must say I was disappointed. There is definitely a noticeable reduction of flower displays/beds. Every year I take photos from the Regatta Point end down towards the ferris wheel as it's always a great shot. This year sadly disappointed and didn't even take a photo," another added.
But Events ACT's Jasmine De Martin hit back at criticism, saying Floriade had a different footprint each year.
"No, there's not less flowers. There's the same amount of bulbs and annuals that have been planted each year so there's over a million of those," Ms De Martin said.
"The master plan is set 18 months in advance and the garden beds are designed and put in place [in a way] that is dictated by the National Capital Authority."
The National Capital Authority has sought to claw back parts of Commonwealth Park for year-round use, ending about eight months of disruption brought by planting and construction each year.
To that end, some flower beds for the 2016 festival were grown off-site in portable flower beds and dropped into Commonwealth Park.
"This year there was a space in the main area where we were unable to plant so we used some of the great innovative technology in the portable flower beds, so we can grow off-site then drop in on-site in gorgeous patterns across the space," Ms De Martin said.
The closure of Floriade and cancellation of NightFest for two days, Thursday and Friday, was the first time in its 29-year history that the annual flower festival had closed for more than a day.
Ms De Martin said safety was one of the reasons they were forced to close the gates for so long.
"The consistent rainfall we've had, particularly over those two days last week, made the park really boggy and wet. There were high puddle areas and the parks themselves were washed out [and] for us the top most priority is the positive experience and safety of our patrons," Ms De Martin said.
Ticket-holders were offered an exchange or refund for the rained out NightFest dates.
"We've found most ticket-holders exchange their tickets across to another night. It's really tough to close the park on two of its five nights but of course the general public does understand that we can't control the weather," Ms De Martin said.
On the ground at Floriade, many people Fairfax Media spoke to were disappointed at the scarcity of flowers on the southern side of the park.
Reggie Ramos, of Campbelltown, said he was expecting more flowers, while Peng Teh, of Sydney, said she wasn't expecting "patches" of flower beds.
"It takes away from the grandness of it," she said.
However, people were more impressed with the beds closer to Parkes Way, where the flowers were more densely displayed.
Daniella Queenan, whose family also travelled from Sydney for the event, said she was "pleasantly surprised" at how many flowers there were. "It's beautiful," she said.
