Blooming brilliant result for Exeter florist

Tina Parkes of the Academy of Floral Art near Exeter has triumphed at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, winning a prestigious Gold medal in the RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year competition.

As a British, Dutch and US Master Florist and now with an RHS Chelsea Gold medal to her credit, Tina is officially the most highly qualified florist working in the UK today.

“I am absolutely delighted to have won Chelsea Gold,” said Tina, who went into the finals as the top-scoring qualifier with a practically perfect 96%. “I really wanted to do well in the Chelsea finals, and I am so thrilled that all the hard work has paid off! Since receiving the competition brief from the RHS six weeks ago, I have been working non-stop on the design - sampling products, experimenting with design ideas and trialing different flowers.”

The competition finalists were given the dual challenges of creating Floral Kites under the theme of ‘Urban Streets and Summer Skies’ and of carefully suspending their designs from the rafters of the Chelsea’s Great Pavilion to look as though they were in full flight.

Tina’s kite bore a quote from Lauren Bacall - “Imagination is the highest kite one can fly” – in reference to the original use of kites for sending messages along battle-lines. And to reflect the association of the Chinese in kite history, Tina opted to use a bold colour scheme of red (a lucky colour in Chinese culture) with touches of yellow and gold, which stood out against the sky blue backdrop.

The RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year competitions are organised by the British Florist Association in association with the Royal Horticultural Society.

“The RHS Chelsea Florist of the Year competitions are a fantastic showcase of the technical skills and creativity of the UK’s professional florists,” said Tracy Tomlinson, Manager of the British Florist Association. “To compete in the Chelsea finals is an incredible achievement and these florists can be very proud of their success.”

Tina specialises in teaching advanced florists (Level 4 & 5) at one of the country’s leading flower schools, the Academy of Floral Art, which she co-founded with fellow tutor, Julie Collins, in 2008. The Academy offers its students a more European style of education, where practical skills drive the lower levels of study and theoretical understanding and thought processes drive the higher levels.

An Academic Fellow of the Institute of Professional Florists, Tina is passionate about education within the floral industry and is currently serving on the BFA Education Board, the AIFD Education Board and as a consultant to City & Guilds and floristry colleges nationwide on professional qualifications.

Whilst she is invited to demonstrate and give masterclasses worldwide nowadays, Tina still loves to “keep her speed up” by working in friends’ flower shops on the frenetic peak days of the floristry calendar. Tina has developed a particular expertise and love for funeral work, creating the most exquisite, personal and innovative designs.