A nationwide co-operative of artisan cut flower growers, including many from our region, won a gold medal for an exhibit on its debut appearance at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

As part of Flowers from the Farm (FFTF), 94 growers from the length and breadth of the UK, provided an estimated 14,000 stems for the winning 'Going to Market' exhibit.

Sarah Hammond, of Knapton-based English Peonies, whose flowers were used in the exhibit, said: 'Incredibly, the group won a gold medal for its first stand.'

Flowers involved in the exhibit also came from Hillcrest Flower Garden, Lingwood, Gabriel's Garden, Gissing, and Forever Green Flower Farm, from Ormesby St Margaret.

The great flower migration took place last Saturday when FFTF members from Inverness to the Isles of Scilly finished picking their flowers and loaded them into cars and ferries. These deliveries converged at 12 hubs before larger vans took the buckets to the Great Pavilion in London.