Dublin based Florists and students of South West College, Ciara Quigley and Karen Massey were recently announced as the first and second prize winners, respectively, at the Irish Chelsea Hub qualifying heat.
The owner of The Flower Boutique in Killiney, Dublin snatched first place among the 20 competitors at the regional competition, held at CAFRE, Greenmount Campus, which means that Ciara will now go forward to compete at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May.
Second place was awarded to Karen Massey, owner of Fleurtatious in Leopardstown Shopping Centre Dublin, who will also travel to London for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The competing florists had to work to the specific brief of designing and creating a floral collar for a guest of the Woodland Trust’s annual dinner dance.
Speaking about her victory, Ciara said:
“While out walking my dogs on Killiney Hill, I collected some beautiful wild lichen, twigs and flowers and I decided that these were the perfect combination of fresh local materials to fulfil the design brief of the competition.
“I am delighted to be moving forward to compete at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show!”