Chichester Cathedral Festival of Flowers 2018

Taking part in this biennial festival was so exciting and such a huge honour. 

Festival designer Jose Morum-Pound allocated 'Fascinating Orchids' to me and my floral partner Sue Clancy and the brief was that we should create a jungle feel to pay homage in particular to Thomas and William Lobb, plant hunters extraordinaire who, amongst others, introduced orchids to Europe and the UK. 

Working with a budget of just £250 it was quite a challenge to fill our allocated space in the South Aisle with as many orchids as we possibly could. Since flower prices fluctuate daily, South East Flowers felt it would be best if we gave them free range with the ordering. This meant that we had no idea how many blooms we would get, nor what colours! 

Still, it all turned out brilliantly with an array of orchid species in many wonderful hues, and we had a good range of exotic foliages and plants to help complement our design too. 

We decided to have about two thirds of the space as our jungle with the remaing area depicting wooden crates on a ship. The crates were stencilled with the word 'Veitch'; the patrons who sent Messrs Lobb on their numerous expeditions. 

We were so pleased with the end result and felt especially pleased when festival patron, Emma Bridgewater, even stopped to admire it all. Several days of back breaking work and months of planning and designing had paid off!

Our grateful thanks go to our wonderful husbands John and Philip too for all their love and support, not to mention carpentry assistance...