City of Bath College floristry student Hannah Lee is celebrating a blooming marvellous achievement – scooping a bronze medal at the Chelsea Flower Show.
Hannah took bronze in the Young Florist of the Year category, which puts her up there with the best young florists in the country.
The theme for the event was Diamond Jubilee and each competitor had to design a chandelier made from fresh flower materials. Hannah got her inspiration from researching the history of the chandeliers at Buckingham Palace.
Her winning design was a chandelier which included Phalaenopsis orchids, muscari and hyacinths pips.
Hannah, 19, from Tetbury, who is studying the Floristry Level 3 City and Guilds qualification at City of Bath College and works at Scentiments florist, said she was delighted to have won the award.
“It’s a fantastic feeling – I can’t believe it,” she said. “To win one of the top awards at an event like Chelsea is a huge achievement and I’m so proud.
“I was going up against some really talented people so I wasn’t that confident before the competition. Then when I found out I’d got a Bronze medal – and that I was only one mark away from the silver – I just couldn’t believe it.
“My friends and family are delighted and I know my tutors at City of Bath College are very proud of me too.“
Hannah’s tutor Louise Rawlings said: “This is a fantastic achievement by Hannah. She has done so well and deserves this success – we are all extremely proud of her.”
Hannah is the latest success story for the Bath College Floristry Department.
At the 2010 Chelsea Flower Show, student Bethan McGivern beat off competition from a number of top florists to land the Bronze Medal in the under 25s section of the Chelsea Florist of the Year competition.
Competition organisers then invited a team of seven students to exhibit their work at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show – a huge achievement.
Between these two appearances at Chelsea, floristry students beat 20 other UK colleges to land one of the industry’s biggest awards – the coveted New Covent Garden Market College Award.
