‘Bouquet’ Fountain’s fresh look
Wellington’s Bucket Fountain has been filled with blooms to celebrate the third annual New Zealand Flowers Week.
The floral design was created by Wellington florist Melissa Connor, who owns the Melissa Jane Flower Studio. ‘‘I just wanted to think outside the box again and do something grand and crazy,’’ she said.
Connor sought permission from Wellington City Council to use Cuba St’s Bucket Fountain for her installation, and it was granted ‘‘straight away’’.
The National Flowers Promotional Group – recently rebranded as Feel Good With Flowers – provided Connor with $1000 for the value of the flowers in her installation. ‘‘I’ve kind of gone over that at my own expense,’’ she said.
The arrangement includes locally grown peonies, delphiniums, gloriosa, carnations, roses, sunflowers, craspedias and gladiolas. ‘‘I just really wanted to keep in theme with the colourful rainbow theme that Cuba Mall has, especially with the Rainbow Crossing now.’’
She began installing the flowers about 8pm on Monday. The flower-filled buckets will be emptied today.
Connor said the short timeframe only added to the excitement. ‘‘People are kind of racing down there at lunchtime or going after work to go see it.’’
The installation is one of seven that Kiwi florists have put up across the country to celebrate New Zealand-grown flowers and foliage. United Flower Growers marketing manager Rebecca Jones said the group had been running the week-long event for three years, after being inspired by a similar event in Britain.
Last year Connor was one of five Kiwi florists chosen to take up the challenge of creating a piece of floral art with a Ma¯ori twist. She created a korowai out of lilies.