Scottish florists flying flag at Chelsea flower show

A MOTHER and daughter duo are taking a spectacular ‘ gravity- defying’ display to the world’s most famous flower show.

In a huge coup for the industry in Scotland, Louisina Currie and Lauren Printy Currie are aiming to champion sustainability and zero waste at the prestigious RHS Chelsea Flower Show in May.

The women, who run flower farm and floristry studio Days of Dahlia on the outskirts of East Kilbride, will be exhibiting in the floral design competition at this year’s event.

Glasgow- born Louisina, a florist of 45 years, and visual artist Lauren, have worked together since

2018. Their sculptural installation, entitled “The cracks which appear, and the things that grow from them” brings together their expertise and skills.

All the flowers will be grown from seed on the farm and the two women hope Chelsea will provide them with “a platform to communicate to a wider audience about the need to champion local flower farms and sustainable floristry practices, and that in doing so you do not need to forego on beauty, design or ambition.” Louisina, who trained in horticulture and floristry in the 1970s, comes from a background of makers and crafters in Glasgow. She said: “This is an incredible opportunity and to be able to share it with Lauren on such a prestigious stage to a global audience is once in a lifetime.

“We have invested so much of our time and passion into the farm and truly believe in every seed that is sown and every flower that is grown.

“Although I’ve been in this game for more than 40 years, I am always learning and Chelsea will allow us both to continue to grow and strengthen our passion for all things flowers and design.”

Lauren added: “The title of the piece is a nod to paying attention. When you notice the weeds and flowers that grow between the cracks of concrete in an urban street, it’s a reminder of other peripheral ecosystems that thrive in small ways in tandem with, or despite, us.

“These hopeful little cracks represent spaces for resilience, methods of undoing, shedding old ways and to the much- needed change within our industry.”

The Days of Dahlia sculpture comprises botanically dyed silk, fresh and dried flowers, glass, and jute, all of which will be suspended from a metal armature to create a “gravity- defying garden of delights.”

It will deliberately expose the mechanics which support and hydrate the flowers through an intricate network of glass to highlight the devotion, ingenuity, and care that goes into a sustainable floristry practice, adds Lauren.

“We have dreamt up this live sculpture and now we can’t wait to make it happen and to show our work and our flowers at the highest level, in an art form that is part of my family, my ancestors and is centuries old, with our own contemporary retelling of it,” she said. I hope we will have many conversations about flowers and their role in a sustainable future through our exhibit at Chelsea.”