Coventry florists through to final at Chelsea Flower Show

[dutchman]

Two young florists from Coventry have won through to a final at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show.



Charlotte Baker and Amy Manley will take their green fingers down to West London next week in the hope of bringing a medal back to Hubbards Florist in Holbrook Lane where they work.

The friends will be competing with some of the UK’s top flower arrangers for the title of Young Florist of the Year after winning through heats around the country in recent months.

The pair have spent weeks preparing individual frames for their bouquets and will add the flowers tomorrow. They travel down on Sunday for the start of the national flower show, being opened by the Queen on Monday.

Charlotte, 21, of Fenside Avenue, Cheylesmore, works at the shop owned by her grandad, Ken Hubbard. She beat 12 other florists during her heats in Portsmouth coming in first place in January with a bridal bouquet. She said: “I was doing it before I left school at my grandad’s shop. I think you’ve got to have that initial thing inside you that makes you creative.

“But I’ve been doing it for years and the more you learn the better you get.

“It was great to win through to the final, especially as it’s at the Chelsea Flower Show. I’ve been down before to help but it will be my first time competing.”

The competition requires the girls to produce bouquets to the theme of the ‘never ending circle’ and both have spent weeks putting together their elaborate designs.

Amy Manley, 20, of Juniper Close, Bedworth, said she can’t wait to put her posies to the test.

The former Nicholas Chamberlaine School pupil came second during her heats in Portsmouth in March. She then faced an anxious wait before being told her creation had won her a place at the final on points.

“It was really exciting to find I’d got through,” she said. “Now I’m just really looking forward to it. I’ve been doing it since I was 17. I’m quite creative so I just thought it would be an ideal career for me. And I love flowers anyway.”

The girls hope to follow in the footsteps of another Hubbards florist, Vicky Rymell, aged 27, who won a gold in the Young Florist of the Year 2009 event.

But the two friends are keeping their ideas close to their chests.

Amy added: “We’re not really competing against each other because we’re doing it for the same shop. But we’re keeping our ideas separate.

“So it will be a nice surprise to see what we’ve come up with.”

[dutchman]

Young florists bring back medals from prestigious Chelsea Flower Show

Two young florists have been recognised at the prestigious Chelsea Flower Show.

After the annual event in West London celebrated its 100th year Charlotte Baker and Amy Manley have returned to Coventry with gold and silver medals for their spectacular posies.

The pair have learnt their craft at Hubbards Florist where they work together in Holbrook Lane.

The centenary show saw Charlotte, 21, scoop the top standard gold award while Amy, 20, came home with a silver medal in the Young Florist of the Year competition.

Gold and silver medals are awarded according to the points scored for the standard of the flower display.

Therefore there can be more than one gold medal awarded.

The girls spent weeks preparing their elaborate designs to this year’s theme of the ‘never ending circle’.

Charlotte of Fenside Avenue, Cheylesmore, was awarded 90 points out of 100 and came in second place overall - just three points behind the top young florist.

“I’ve definitely set the bar high for myself,” Charlotte said. “I’ve never been to the Chelsea Flower Show before so it was tremendous to be three points off winning.

“We’re waiting for the gold (medal) to be engraved now. You’re not really in a competition to ‘win’ as such, it’s about getting the gold grade.

“The standard was very high. It is something I’ll really treasure.”

The girls were two of only 16 florists to qualify for the competition after winning through heats based around the UK.

They travelled down for the national flower show which was opened by the Queen on Monday.

Amy of Juniper Close, Bedworth, said: “It was an amazing feeling to find out I had been awarded silver.

“I was really happy and proud of what I’d done.

“Before we went down we had put it all in place and it was just a case of waiting to be judged. A lot of work went in to it.

“I’m definitely going to try again next year. It was a brilliant experience.”

The event has been organised by the Royal Horticultural Society every year during peacetime since 1913 and is held in the grounds of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.

The girls’ boss at Hubbard’s Florist - Ken Hubbard - is also Charlotte’s granddad.

He said: “What they’ve done is absolutely fantastic. I’m really proud of them both.

“They worked really hard. It’s not just a one day competition. Both of them had to prepare for it for weeks before and had worked really hard. They’ve done marvellous.”

[dutchman]

Coventry florist strikes gold at Chelsea Flower show



A Coventry florist has won a gold medal at the Chelsea Flower Show, where crowds were wowed by her innovative design.

Amy Manley, 21, who works in the City Arcade, was selected to design one of the suspended wire frames on Interflora’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show exhibit with four other young florists.

Creative Amy, from Bedworth, scooped second place in the Young Florist of the Year competition at last year’s event.

She said: “This year, we arrived at the venue on Saturday to do all the prop work and assemble our structure.

“Sunday was about putting the flowers on. We used lots of orchids and test tubes and created a nice vibrant mix of colours.

“It was something people hadn’t seen before and it was an eye catching design. It’s an amazing feeling to win gold.

“All the hard work was worth it, and it’s nice to tell customers at the Tomlinson Flower Company, too - they’ve been asking how I got on.”