Flowers at Chicheley Hall
August 8, 2011
A road trip and a grand day out!
Last weekend we had an amazing day out at Chicheley Hall near Milton Keynes; it was Heaven on Earth for anyone who loves art and flowers! We were excited to see so many world renowned floral designers in one place - we got to meet our heroes! Morna partook in a design workshop with Belgian Wonderwoman Moniek Vanden Berghe, with stunning results. We decided that to split up was the best way to see everything in our own time, and reconvene for cream tea on the lawn at lunchtime.
In the manor house, each stately room had been given over to a floral designer to make an installation to complement the space. Belgian Stief Adriaenssens created these enormous floor standing cones of woven rushes, filled with giant ice-cream scoops of carnations. The effect was incredible, since it had been specially lit by Stief himself. Our other favourite rooms had been designed by Mark Pampling with the Fusion Flowers team, and Russian Sergey Malyuchenko's lush, fruity table runner in the dining room.
The entrance hall was dominated by Robert Koene's lavish arbor which took three days to build and decorate with the assistance of two helpers. Including the arbor and the complementing fireplace and windowsill designs, Dutch born Koene used 6,200 flowers, including 3,300 roses for a very impressive look. The quality of flowers was first class and the Phalaenopsis orchids were incredibly luscious. It is rare indeed to get to work in such quantities of premium flowers unless you are sponsored as Koene was by Dutch Creations. He clearly loves his pink roses as he has used several varieties including one of our favourites 'Cool Water' and a variety called 'Dolcetto' that was new to us, but not for long!
Over in the marquee, we were treated to
demonstrations by some of our favourite international
designers. Australian Mark Pampling took to the stage with Moniek
Vanden Berghe and Dutch Geert Pattyn tag-teamed with Damien Koh
from Singapore. Our heads were spinning with the ideas flowing
thick and fast and then The Godfather of Floral
Design took to the stage. Gregor Lersch left us with jaws on
the floor with his breathtaking creations and innovative uses of
everyday foliages within amazing constructions.
It was a wrench to leave, especially with the 6 hour drive back to Glasgow, but we had so much to talk about what we had seen, the journey wasn't at all boring. We were reminded of the Proclaimers song '500 miles' as although we didn't exactly walk 500 miles, we would have walked 500 more just to see the amazing designers drawn to Chicheley Hall. Let's hope they make it an annual event!
