I finished my Floristry course at Greenmount Campus in June 2010 and was thrilled to be invited to help leading UK designer, Amanda Canning, with her floristry demonstrations at the RHS Tatton Park Show in July. I was accompanied by my two friends Dorothy Blair and Pat Hunter whom I met and trained with at Greenmount.
Our first experience at Tatton involved joining a willing band of volunteers within the British Florist Association marquee to prepare costumes for a Catwalk Show featuring West End musicals. We made a range of body adornments for the dancers and quickly learned that everything has to be BIG for the stage. We also contributed by making a range of accessories to enhance the costumes. For example, Pat made a beautiful bustle for ‘My Fair Lady’ and Dorothy and I made the head for beast in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ – it’s wonderful what you can do with floristry materials!
The highlight of our trip was supporting and assisting Amanda in her floristry demonstrations. We assisted with the preparations for the designs, stage design set up and scene changes and, of course, learning to be in the right place at the right time so that our designer was presented with everything she needed to complete her creations. We also had a bird’s eye view behind the stage as Amanda completed an outstanding range of commercial floristry designs.
The BFA marquee also hosted the International Design Competition for 18-25 year olds which took place over the three days we were there. It was a privilege to see such talented florists push the boundaries of traditional floristry to create a host of stunning creations. It was truly inspiring to see these young people at work and amazing to see the variety of designs that were created using the same materials.
On the last day of the trip we visited ‘The Flower and Plant Works’ flower shop in Runcorn run by Amanda and her sister Barbara. We saw first hand how all the floristry training at Greenmount was applied within a successful high street florist. We all wanted to work there but sadly there were no vacancies!
Floristry students celebrating at Greenmount Campus Awards Day in June. Valerie Clarke (2nd left) was awarded the prize for First Overall in Floristry
Leading UK floristry designer, Amanda Canning, (back) taking a break from her demonstrations in the BFA marquee with Greenmount floristry students (from left) Dorothy Blair, Patricia Hunter and Valerie Clarke
Floral costumes for Beauty and the Beast in the BFA Catwalk Show
Some of the stunning work in the International Design Competition
