Business

Florists in Hull, florists in Nottingham and florists in Yorkshire and all over the UK revelled in one of Interflora’s most impressive creations during this year’s summer season, having donated an RHS Chelsea Flower Show gold-medal-winning installation from the show direct to a nursing home in Leeds, West Yorkshire.

The display, which was thoughtfully named ‘A Sense of Perspective’ (owing to the fact that viewers were able to see something different from every angle), conveyed the innovation behind creator David Denyer’s design process, comprising of no less than nine doorways. Unsurprisingly, the installation was awarded the coveted gold medal at 2011’s Chelsea-based show, and Interflora decided to put one of the nine doorways up as the prize for a competition.

The Headingley Hall Care Home in north Leeds won the competition and has since had the design installed inside the care home itself. The care home didn’t just get the same old recycled display, though, because its original creator redesigned the whole display in flowers in the colours of the winner’s choice.

BBC Radio Leeds caught on to the story, and the competition winners were given the added bonus of having Interflora cameramen cover the doorway’s installation into the nursing home. In an interview with BBC Radio Leeds, Mr Denyer said: “It’s been a few weeks since Chelsea, so it’s quite fun to see it all again.”

With regards to the residents, he added: “They’re hoping to pick up some tips.”

It was Mr Denyer’s will to give the display a new lease of life and to make sure that it matched its new homestead and its recipients well. Using what can only be described as the very best flowers Derby, Leeds and the whole of West Yorkshire had to offer him, Mr Denyer restructured the whole work, putting into the doorway a whole host of new flowers, to boot.

Mr Denyer continued: “The idea is to merge all of Chelsea in one doorway using reds, oranges, pinks and purples. I’ve used hydrangeas, alliums, gerberas and some unusual anthuriums. It should last nicely, for at least a week.”

Kath Johnstone, an employee at the care home and the competition’s lucky winner, was also interviewed by the Leeds-based BBC radio outpost: “I thought it would be really lovely to share it with all the residents. It’s such a unique prize; we’re just thrilled for everybody here. We’ve been counting down the days until David could come to put the exhibition up. It’s a little bit of Chelsea coming to Headingly Hall.

“I go to a lot of flower shows and I love Interflora and their flowers, so I was tracking David to see if he’d won the gold at Chelsea. I then saw the competition to win a doorway and entered.”