RHS Chelsea 2019 End of an era … start of a new one!
Whether you were into the Flower Pot men or Philippe Stark chairs, as always Chelsea Flower Show had something for everyone! As always full to the gills with amazing designs, fabulous flowers, stars galore and, we’ll admit, this year just a teensy-weensy bit of sadness as it was the last time the Professional floristry section took place in it's current format.
But, given our Ed suggested that there was need for a change way back in 2017 it is only a teensy weensy bit sad because the new plans for Chelsea next year are even more exciting and although a departure from the traditional our feeling is it’s a departure for the good.
You see floristry has come a long way since the first early displays took place at the show – and yes the magazine was there albeit not with cameras in those days!! - and it’s vital that this international showcase of all things flora moves with the times. So whilst we will and always shall celebrate the past we’re going to say that the future is looking as fabulous as the displays at this year’s show.
For now though we celebrate this year’s fabulous floristry with links back to past years and triumphs
Crowning Glory
Floral Fabulousness fit for a Queen
As always the professional floristry competition was split into two sections, the RHS Florist of the Year and the RHS Chelsea Young Florist of the Year for contestants under 25. Run in conjunction with the British Florist Association who were responsible for finding the talent to compete, competitors were asked to create a crown to celebrate the 200th birthday of Queen Victoria – she was born on 24th May 1819 so the perfect link up.
The design dimensions were completely up to the contestants (although, as the judges would be trying them on, they had to be sensible!!) and could be displayed in any way the designer felt was appropriate. The only rule was that at least 2/3rds of the design was of fresh flower and/or plant material and that they had to be visually dominant.
We don’t know what Queen Victoria would have thought of them but having watched (at a distance of course) the judges in action during the Young Florist of the Year finals we reckon there were some tough decisions given the quality, dexterity, and sheer gorgeousness of them all … a viewed shared when it was announced that four gold medals had been awarded.
However, there could be only one ultimate winner and it was, as you can see from our video, a surprised but elated Elizabeth Newcombe who took top place and the title RHS Young Florist of the Year. Having seen Lizzies work and career to date – she represented the UK in the Worldskills as well as being one of the highest scoring students in 2018, she was an incredibly worth winner and we reckon is on track to be a future star.
https://www.facebook.com/floristmagazine/videos/263693092161799
The senior section was equally exciting with florists around the UK competing against each other to claim the top accolade RHS Florist of the Year. However interestingly in this section just one gold was awarded and so Helen Pannitt - pictured below - who runs the absolutely gorgeous shop Helen James Flowers in Harrogate took the top prize.
Picture of Helen above courtesy of BFA
All the Medals
In order of priority the medals are awarded as follows
Gold
Silver Gilt
Silver
Bronze
However whilst some contestants may have received no medal our feeling is that the very fact they made it to Chelsea means they were pretty darned good!
RHS YOUNG FLORIST OF THE YEAR 2019
RHS Young Florist of the Year & Gold Medal: Elizabeth Newcombe
Gold
Alice Herrington, Bicton College
Kara Halford, Academy of Floristry
Robyn Longden, Ian Lloyd Events
Silver-Gilt
Jodie Tremain, West Malling Flowers
Victoria Brennan, CAFRE, Greenmount Campus
Zoe Rowlinson, Fabulous Flowers
Silver
Ella Boardman, Flowerfair
Jordan Knight, Academy of Floristry
Lara Thorpe, The Flower Shop
Louisa Cooper, Louisa May Flowers
Bronze
Alicia Granell, Fairmile Florist
Daniella Herbert, The Flower Boutique
Megan Ingram, CAFRE Greenmount Campus
No Award
Hannah Beckley, Morton Morrell College
Shannon Ormandy, Blossom and Birch
RHS CHELSEA FLORIST OF THE YEAR 2019
RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year & Gold Medal: Helen Pannitt, Helen James Flowers
Silver-Gilt
Helen Joyce, By Arrangement Florist
Dean Sharpe, Floral Studio
Ann Kirkwood, The Woodshed Flowers
Silver
Anne Whysall, Anne Whysall Florists
Katerina Holisova, Chelsea Flowers
Anna Slade, Darts Farm Florist
Jackie Le Jehan
Pippa Craigen
Emma Keeler, Sonning Flowers
Bronze
Trudy Holt, By Arrangement Florist
Jacalyn Arscott, Cottage Flowers
Lucinda Knapman, West Bognor Flower Club
No Award
Tina Pound, Telford Florist
Trudie Easton
Victoria Antonietta Clemson
New Installations excite and thrill
As a pre-cursor to the RHS plans to revolutionise the whole floristry area in 2020 this year saw some very special installations built by some of the most innovative florists in the industry. Working to the theme ‘The Beauty of Nature’, the designers produced four totally different but equally beautiful designs. You can see our videos of each on our facebook page here.
Ravished
Billy Hillhouse
billylovesflowers.com
The exhibit depicts an abandoned room ravished by nature. Seasonal foraged foliage, flowers and plants create an abundant interior natural fantasy inspired by English flowers, fashion photographer Tim Walker, the Pre-Raphaelites and Kensal Green cemetery. English wild flowers are displayed in a natural way rather than being overly arranged, allowing them to do their own thing, which is what they do best.
Come what May
Charlotte Smithson
festoonflowers.co.uk
Designers Description
Come what May is a fresh, botanical suspension of individual stems of natural material. Glass test tubes hanging from the ceiling are dressed with textural and delicate displays of seasonal flowers, seed heads, foliage and meadow grasses, carefully curated into clusters.
Inspired by tangles growing in hedgerows, wisps of leggy grasses in forgotten corners of fields, the test tubes of flowers and foliages hang ethereally to be observed and inspected. The installation captures the best of May’s wild, sustainably foraged and garden grown British flora. The exhibit’s sponsor, 24 Design Ltd, assisted Festoon with fabricating this fully recyclable installation.
Living Herbarium
Gail smith
Gailsmith.co.uk
Designers Description
Water cones secured to a freestanding upright birch pole contain 500 stems of cut flowers and foliage to create a 3m tall living herbarium. Visitors are invited to identify the various flower species by their common names to help compile a compendium of flower nicknames. This installation is in part homage to the designers estranged grandfather who was a keen amateur botanist in 1920’s Cardiff, specialising in alien species that grew from seeds swept off the foredeck of foreign merchant ships docked at Barry in Wales.
See The Living Herbarium on video
The Circle of Life
Jens Jakobsen
www.jensjakobsen.co.uk
Designers Description
Life in the form of the 'circle of the fairies' which is found on the Shetland Islands, reminds us that nature is fragile but also full of beauty energy and healing. Just once in a while you should lie on the ground, listen to nature and all its sounds, let your hands play with a leaf, hold your ear to a tree to hear its heartbeat, let your senses absorb the colours, structures, lines and scents. This installation features a circle of the fairies' and bird nests in trees, using raw nature where woodlands become the frame for a never-ending circle.
See The Circle of Life on video
Chelsea back in time
Our Chelsea Flower Show coverage goes back to year dot and if you use the Search button you can see them all but here's the last few years to give you a taste for what happened - click these links to find out more!
2018 Floristry at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show
