During the 1910s and 1920s, the “Battle of Flowers” parade was a highlight of community life in the United States and Europe. Towns organized these events to celebrate holidays like the Fourth of July or the arrival of spring. Participants did not simply wash their vehicles for the occasion. They completely concealed the machinery beneath thousands of fresh blooms. The goal was to transform a mechanical object into a rolling garden. Civic groups and wealthy families competed fiercely for ribbons and silver cups awarded to the most artistic entries.
The Automobile as a Canvas
The open-top touring cars of the era, such as the Ford Model T, provided an ideal structure for heavy decoration. Owners covered the hoods, fenders, and running boards with dense arrangements of hydrangeas, wisteria, and roses. In many cases, the floral coverage was so thick that the car itself became unrecognizable. Drivers peered through small gaps left in the flower banks on the windshield. Some designs were thematic, turning the vehicle into a giant basket, a swan, or a butterfly using wire frames and greenery.
Bicycles in Bloom
Decoration was not limited to motorized transport. Bicycles were a central part of these festivities, often featuring their own dedicated parade categories. Riders wove colored streamers and crepe paper through the wire spokes of the wheels to create a spinning mosaic of color.
They attached large bouquets to the handlebars and wrapped the frames in ribbons. In the evenings, cyclists hung Japanese paper lanterns from the handlebars to create a glowing procession through the city streets.
Read more
Baby Carriages and Doll Prams
Children and mothers joined the spectacle with elaborately decorated baby carriages and doll prams. These smaller vehicles received the same attention to detail as the automobiles. Wicker buggies were draped in fern leaves and carnations. Little girls pushed doll prams that featured miniature parasols made of flowers. The participants often dressed in white outfits that matched the pale colors of the floral arrangements, creating a unified visual theme for the procession.
The Art of Paper and Petals
While fresh flowers were the standard for wealthy entrants, many decorators relied on handmade materials. Crepe paper was an essential tool for these transformations. Manufacturers sold special “parade paper” that was durable and brightly colored. Women spent weeks curling and twisting paper strips to mimic the shape of real chrysanthemums or poppies. This allowed them to cover large surface areas without the flowers wilting in the summer heat. Whether using nature or paper, the result was a vehicle that sacrificed utility for pure aesthetic display.
