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dronfield EYE
Jonathan Moseley takes time out from building Britain’s largest moth orchid display to check out the latest issue of Dronfield Eye
Jonathan’s a record-breaker
Centrepiece of the recent RHS showcase at Chatsworth was a spectacular creation by Coal Aston’s Jonathan Moseley and his team. Deborah Wain reports
A S one of the country’s top floral designers, Jonathan Moseley spends a great deal of time
away from his home in Coal Aston.
So his latest assignment at the second Royal
Horticultural Society Flower Show at Chatsworth provided a rare chance for him to work on the doorstep.
“It’s an absolute treat to have been able to return home every night as my work usually involves travelling vast distances,” he said.
And what a project to showcase Jonathan’s innovative skills in his home county; creating the largest ever display of British-grown moth orchids - more than 5,000.
Jonathan and his team filled a 21st century version of Chatsworth’s Great Conservatory, originally built by celebrated head gardener Joseph Paxton in the Victorian era.
Jonathan’s mass impact design was a nod to the ‘orchidelerium’ displayed by the Victorians who were obsessed with the plant.
During Paxton’s time at Chatsworth, the estate had one of the country’s most extensive, and probably expensive, collections of orchids. Many of the plants collected are still grown all over the world while discoveries have been used to breed many new hybrids.
The spectacular moth orchids – or to give them their proper name Phalaenopsis – were in a palette of lilacs, pinks, purple and white, cascading from chandeliers and adorned a central waterfall and gate.
The blooms – over 100 varieties – were grown by specialist Hampshire-based Double H Nurseries and 20 florists worked for three days on creating the exhibit. Among those involved were floristry students from Sheffield.
Jonathan described the immersive floral spectacular - full of colour and texture - as providing “a touch of orchid heaven” for visitors, who flocked to Chatsworth in their thousands for the event.
And he spoke of his own joy, as a local designer, at the stately home once again being an attraction for orchid enthusiasts.
The popularity of orchids has soared again in recent years and Jonathan stressed that they are easy to care for and have an ability to bloom in any season as well as offering glorious, long-lasting flowers.
He said: “Orchids look like divas of the flower world but they thrive on neglect and are ideally suited to busy lifestyles.”
During the show, Jonathan also led a series of floristry workshops and demonstrations offering adventurous ideas on ways to showcase orchids such as in hanging baskets or living walls.
Jonathan decided to pursue his love of flowers and plants after leaving university and he’s never looked back.
He has worked as a professional florist for over 25 years and has become renowned as one of the UK’s leading floral designers. He is known to television viewers as a judge on the BBC2 gardening series ‘The Big Allotment Challenge’.
Last year, Jonathan masterminded the floral Palladian Bridge at RHS Chatsworth Flower Show. He is a UK ambassador for British flowers and actively promotes British flower farming and growing. His British Flower Bus will be stopping off at other events and RHS shows this summer.
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