Rooms transformed at Leeds Castle as Festival of Flowers is in full bloom
17:00, 27 September 2017
The place described as the loveliest castle in the world played host to some blooming lovely displays for its fifth flower festival.
Running over this week, 22 floral arrangements have been created with an enchanted castle theme.
For the first time this year displays were created outside, as well as inside the venue’s rooms. Visitors could also enjoy talks from the designers and tips, including advice from TV garden designer Joe Swift.
The castle’s largest room – King Henry VIII’s banqueting hall – was transformed with an opulent table display featuring exotic blooms and flowers used in Tudor times. It was the work of London designer Simon Lycett.
Other local designers got to work on bedrooms and corridors, including West Malling Flowers and students from Hadlow College, while floral artist Dennis Kneepkens flew over from Beirut to create a centre piece a - Magical Tree - on the castle's front lawn.
The festival pays homage to the last private owner of Leeds Castle, Lady Olive Baillie, who was famous for having elaborate floral pieces on show during 1930s society parties, attended by guests including Prince Edward and Wallis Simpson and Hollywood stars Errol Flynn and David Niven.
The festival of flowers has been growing in popularity over the years and many of the designers exhibiting their work have approached the castle about showcasing displays.
Many of the flowers have been flown over from Columbia in South America, the world's second biggest grower of flowers.
There is still time to catch the festival. It runs until the end of tomorrow (Thursday). For more click here
