Wick florist becomes first Scot to be invited to exclusive festival
AMANDA Coghill is well- known in the florist industry having earned international recognition for her displays which have captured the attention of judges at the biggest flower show in the world.
The freelance florist from Wick has now made history by becoming the first Scot to be invited to take part in this week’s Leeds Castle Flower Festival in Kent.
The show is an exclusive event where only 20 florists are invited to take part in the festival to create displays within the castle grounds and inside the castle itself.
Ms Coghill (30), who has won silver medals at the Royal Chelsea Flower Show in the past, received a phone call from the event organisers to take part. She said the opportunity to become the first Scottish florist to participate at the festival was too good to turn down.
“I received a message from the owner of South East Flowers in Kent asking if I would come down to the festival and decorate a room,” she said.
“It is something that I couldn’t say no to. When I arrived, the castle’s CEO, Sir David Steel, told me I was the first Scottish florist to take part in the festival.
“For me, to help decorate part of a historic castle which was built in 1119 has just been a magical experience and one of the highlights of my career.”
Ms Coghill was given the Queen’s Room, which was the room of Catherine of Valois, widow of Henry V, to work her floral expertise on.
The theme of this year’s festival was Art Deco and, after researching the castle’s history, Ms Coghill discovered the grounds used to have an aviary.
She decided to create peacock frames out of wire and used flowers such as hydrangeas, gloriosa lilies and strelitzias from a £1000 budget she was given by the festival to create her design.
Ms Coghill previously ran a florist shop in Wick’s Dempster Street but gave it up to go freelance with her work having taken her all over the world.
