The Proposal, featuring model Brittane Watson, is Samantha Trott’s installation for NZ Flowers Week. Photo Tom HollowCreating a floral installation representative of love was a dream come true for Ashburton florist Samantha Trott.

The Samantha Rose Flowers founder was one of five florists in New Zealand who were invited to participate in this week’s NZ Flowers Week.

The brief was to be flown to Auckland, and create a scene from the thousands of blooms and props on offer.

Each of the installations had to be reflective of an emotion tying into the event’s theme, The Power Of Flowers, and for Trott she was given the emotion of love.

“It’s like the most amazing experience that’s ever happened in my career, to be selected, I was overwhelmed,” Trott said.

She said the most unusual request she made while creating her installation had been for a bathtub.

“But they managed to find one, and the colour was perfect,” she said.

Alongside the bathtub she got to work with a wide range of fragrances and colours and types of flowers, including roses ranging in shades from lilac to red, as well as orchids, hydrangeas and snap dragons.

She said she named her work The Proposal, and it features a semicircle of flowers around an ottoman, with an engagement ring on it.

“The woman is slipping into a bath to admire her new ring,” she said.

“The floral backdrop and colours have been selected to represent her feeling all the love.”

The installations by the five florists were created in the lead up to NZ Flowers Week this week, but only released publicly this week.

Linda McKenzie from Dunedin, Kerri Murphy from Wellington, Kath Parkes from Christchurch, and Chikako Shiraki from Auckland, were the other florists involved.

NZ Flowers Week group marketing manager Rebecca Jones said New Zealand had a diverse range of home-grown florists who were experts and global leaders in the craft.

“This year’s florists have gone above-and-beyond and we’re so grateful to be working with such long-standing, world-class women for 2019’s event,” Jones said.

“It was amazing watching the selected florists assimilate their given emotion and conceptually grow idiosyncratic arrangements.

“Each florist has her own special narrative, which is beautifully transcended as they worked to produce a broad range of vibrant designs.”

By Susan Sandys © The Ashburton Guardian - 13 November 2019