Floristry at the 2009 RHS Chelsea Flower Show (19-23 May 2009)
Feeding the public’s appetite for floral design, in 2009 the world’s most famous flower show will be a festival of floristry and will, for the first time, search for the “Chelsea Florist of the Year”.

The 2009 RHS Chelsea Flower Show, sponsored by Marshalls, takes place on 19-23 May 2009 (19-20 May: RHS members only). Tickets must be bought in advance at www.rhs.org.uk/flowershows or by calling 0844 209 0363.

In association with the British Florist Association (BFA), the RHS is searching for the best talent from the UK professional floristry industry, to compete for the titles of ‘Chelsea Florist of the Year’ and the ‘Young Chelsea Florist of the Year’1. Finalists from regional heats will come to the show in May, and use their skill and knowledge of the current floral fashions to create a display of fresh flowers and foliage. The arrangements will make up a spectacular display within the show’s Great Pavilion.

The Great Pavilion will also host a number of other floristry and cut flower displays, which will sit alongside the plant displays created by some of the world’s best nurseries. Zita Elze is a Brazilian born florist who will be exhibiting at Chelsea for the first time in 2009. Her style has been described as “painting with flowers”, and is very sympathetic to the flowers and plant material she uses, showing an artist’s eye for colour, form and texture.

Her floral installations emphasise the quality and natural beauty of seasonal flowers, foliage and plant material. Zita says: “Floristry is a truly fascinating form of art. Working with the seasonality of the plants and flowers means that no two pieces are the same, and the artist is forced to evolve and develop with the changing seasons to capture a moment in time.”

Visitors to the show will also be able to see floral arrangement in action within the Floral Design Marquee. The National Association of Floral Arrangement Societies (NAFAS) will be working on a floral design throughout the week of the show, to demonstrate some of the skills and techniques required to create a floral display at the world’s most famous flower show. But it’s not just floristry at the 2009 RHS Chelsea Flower Show; visitors will be able to enjoy vibrant displays from some of the world’s best nurseries and growers, gardens filled with ideas to take home, and shopping galore.