Florist wins first funeral flowers gold at Chelsea

Nicola Hill helped create the first display of funeral flowers at the Chelsea Flower Show

A florist who helped create the first display of funeral flowers at RHS Chelsea Flower Show has said it was an honour to win gold.

Nicola Hill is part of the Farewell Flowers Directory, a UK not-for-profit organisation that promotes funeral tributes, which created a 10ft high display that included foxgloves, peonies, buttercups and white lilacs.

The creation caught the attention of Queen Camilla, who said she was in awe of it.

"We were absolutely delighted that she was really impressed with our display," said Ms Hill, who is the owner of Gentle Bloom in Leamington, Warwickshire. "Queen Camilla is very passionate about British-grown flowers."

Ms Hill said the main reason behind the concept of showcasing funeral flowers was to reduce plastic and oasis waste in floral arrangements.

"Under almost every funeral flower that you get, there is a big plastic tray with three or four blocks of oasis cable tied to it, but the crematoria have a massive problem [with them].

"All of these tributes have to go straight into landfill.

"Behind the crematoria, there'll be massive skips and bins, and everything goes straight in it. It's a huge problem of waste," she said.

This was not the first time Ms Hill's display has won her a medal for her floral displays at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

"This is my second gold medal, so I'm pretty delighted with that.

"I got a silver gilt the first time I came, but the problem is the pressure is on now; I can't go down," she joked.

The winning design team also includes Carole Patilla, of Tuckshop Flowers in Birmingham; Gill Hodgson, of Fieldhouse Flowers in York; and Georgie Newbery, of Common Farm Flowers in Somerset.