If you’ve ever visited a flower show you’ll know something of the magic of the Floral Marquee. Thousands of pristine plants displayed at their prime: perfection in every petal. That sense of wonder as you first walk in and pause for a moment to take in the quiet, thrilling cacophony of colour and scent, uncertain where to turn first. The sense of history and of secrets smuggled down the generations. It’s the holy of holies of horticulture.
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In my teens I belonged to an amateur drama group. We put on a pantomime every January which ran for 10 days, with two shows a day. I remember quite clearly the potent mix of exhilaration and exhaustion (along with the disapproval of school as I flunked another set of meaningless mock exams). What the audience saw was (usually) a couple of hours of seamless entertainment. But behind the scenes was a cramped maze of scenery and props, adults and children of all ages and sexes in various states of undress, pot bellies and varicose veins, tan lines and cellulite, costumes hanging from curtain rails, make-up smears, half drunk cups of tea and curling, part-nibbled sandwiches, safety pins and velcro. And I loved it, I absolutely loved being in that behind-the-scenes world, being part of the magic making.
Some work alone, driving long distances then unloading the van and building their display quietly and efficiently, with everything carefully worked out to keep the costs and heavy lifting down and the medal score up. Most work in pairs – husband and wife/partner teams are common as you might imagine given the long weeks away. A few of the larger nurseries pull in staff, but that’s the exception.
As to the commercial viability of it all, well, on the evidence of what I’ve seen so far, there are easier ways to earn less than average incomes. Everyone is thinking about ways to boost their income, from the multiple Gold medal winning chrysanthemum grower selling tulip bulbs in an outdoor stall, to talk of flower essence oils, bee-keeping, mail order, opening the garden, closing the garden, opening the nursery to the public, closing to the public. The one thing everyone has in common is the pull of the circuit, of the difficulty of actually stopping a way of life which has become akin to a circadian rhythm.
What advice do they have to offer a newcomer like me? Some compliments, some tips, some very helpful shortcuts. But more than one has simply said don’t get caught up, don’t drive yourself too hard, it will get under your skin and wear you out. I hear them clearly and I watch tough women heaving laden trolleys through long grass in the rain and men who might perhaps be long past retirement age straining sinews to lug heavy pots up onto the staging. And I feel my own joints and tendons warning me that I’m no youngster either.
But then, when it’s all done and you find yourself in possession of a gold medal, as I was at Southport last week, and you overhear the murmuring approval of visitors the old thrill of performance tugs at you. That adrenalin rush as the curtain goes up, the lights dazzle, the critics sharpen their pencils and the audience applauds. I think I can manage to do a few more….
4 Responses to “The Floral Marquee – magic and muscle”
I loved this, Sue. My time taking photographs behind the scenes at Southport showed me how much work goes into creating these displays. It's not just the physical, it's the creative and then being 'on' for the public, too. I take my hat off to you all. Well done on your gold – it was very well deserved!
What a great insight for a young chap like me just starting out on this journey. Im really looking forward to doing our first flower show once we get the nursery up and running. To be honest though I have no expereince of making a floral marquee worthy display so it will be a steep learning curve! What did you do differently for this display compared to the one at Tatton? I think they both look great by the way! Would you say you can make your arrangments reflect your own planting style or are there set ways to diplay the plants which most people follow that score the most points with the judges?
I think that's the beauty of it – that mix of creativity and physical effort. Very satisfying when you get it right, and most frustrating when it just doesn't…
Hi Will, main differences were that the platform was a foot lower so it looked less 'stemmy'. Also, I made sure the path through made more sense. But mostly I gave in to the inevitable and used a pair of trees that gave it the all-important height.
I plan to stick to my own style, time will tell if I can make it score highly enough for the top medals