RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2022- Part 1

Part 1 - Prep - The Feel Good Florist’s first flower show! #rhstattonpark

The brief to apply for a space in The Flower School at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park 2022 was ‘Trees’, applicants were invited to submit their ideas for the floral canopy and to my delight The Feel Good Florist was accepted! The submission was to make a design which celebrated the parts of the tree that we do not see – The Roots. More particularly, the roots of Mother trees and to highlight the vital role they play within our eco system, read the full essay here.

This involved designs of an upside down tree, with flowers at undulating levels at the base representing a very full, blossoming tree crown. These elements would then climb up towards a willow woven trunk and continue to the 2.5 meter high root focus of the design spiralling out of the top.

After accepting the offer It started to sink in that yes, I have to make a GIANT upside down tree.

Well it’s fortunate that I am a glass half full kind of person and I’m not called The Feel Good Florist for nothing! I knew that this design really depended on the solid structure beneath. It’s possible to put flowers on pretty much anything so once this part was complete, I would be well on my way. Rough designs were sketched and I contacted a local joiner in my area. Designs were explained to Andy and he came to me with a fantastic timber base which I plan to re-use for more design work in future.

With the base all set and made, the wheels were in motion. Next was the willow, I discovered a fantastic grower all the way down in Somerset who suggested I use their Blackmaul and Wizender dutch varieties of hurdling willow all grown on their farm. Pre steamed before delivery to make them flexible for weaving they arrived bendy and ready to use with the most lovely menthol aroma. I practiced the ‘Three Rod Wale’ weave (try say that very fast 3 times!) after some trial and error a fairly neat looking weave started to materialise around the base.

With the top 2/3 of the trunk complete, the bottom 1/3 needed to remain bare for assembly on site. One of the many challenges to making an upside down tree is that as the tree base will be in the air, therefore the widest part of the trunk would have to be at the top. This would all have to be completed on site once the structure was re-built after transit. Knowing that willow would only remain flexible for a short time and after consulting with some willow experts I learned that soaking it for a week in the bath would give it the pliability needed to finish the design.

Agra wool would be used for all my cut flowers, an eco friendly alternative to floral foam (which is highly unfriendly to the planet) Agra wool is 100% biodegradable and can be reused for potting plants, so a big thumbs up from me there.

A whopping 135 potted varieties of Petunia and Bidens from Windmill nurseries would be used to represent full blossoms on the crown of the tree. Between these blooms would be willow, contorta witch hazel branches (also representing the roots due to their amazing curly branches) and cut ivy to wrap around. Levels were to be created using wooden boxes and chicken wire underneath the plants and foliage.

With an early morning drive to the wholesalers to collect more witch hazel, grasses, Amaranthus (great for hanging upside down) and moss for the Kokodamas ( Literally translated from Japanese as ‘Moss Ball’) They were to be attached upside down at the top of the tree to look like plants growing out from the ground overhead.

With the materials ordered, paper work completed, marketing plan written and troop of exceptional volunteers at the ready, it was time.

Special thanks to Andy from AP Property Maintenance, Somerset Willow Growers LTD, Windmill Nurseries, Flower Vision and Forever Planet Artisan Shop.