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| 40 garlands with over 50 roses each adorned the sides of the Royal Barge |
Recently I wrote about the seven-mile flotilla of over
1,000 boats that escorted the flower-festooned Royal Barge down the Thames as part
of Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee.
Over a million onlookers viewed the floating pageant as it
traveled along the river to Tower Bridge, which was opened to allow the Queen’s
barge to sail through.
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| Dozens of gardeners and hundreds of plants turned the Royal Barge into a floating botanical garden |
In all, the floral display included over 4,000 red
carnations, 2,100 Darcey Bussell roses, 1,000 Patience roses and 500 purple and
red sweet peas.
There were 40 garlands, each created with more than 50 blooms
of Darcey and Munstead Wood, all supplied by David Austin English roses.
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| My Munstead Wood |
Twenty gardeners spent seven months planning and growing
plants for the special event. It took seven days for 45 florists, gardeners and
flower arrangers to decorate the barge.
Photographs of the extravaganza prove all the work was well
worth the effort.
There has been nothing like the river celebration since the
flotilla honoring King Charles II in 1662, when diarist Samuel Pepys wrote that
there were so many boats he could “see no water.”
The pageant was a feast for the senses.
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| Roses, carnations and sweet peas created a floral scene fit for a Queen |
Cheers rang out along the shore out as the vessels passed
by, church bells chimed and bands played selections including Handel’s Water
Music.
The James Bond theme could be heard in the distance as the procession
passed the MI6 spy agency headquarters.
It appears a jolly good time was had by all.
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10 comments :
Lynn, I can't imagine the Thames filled shore to shore with boats! Oh my. Love the bouquet with the Sweet Peas.
Love that James Bond theme was playing.
Thanks Janet! That James Bond theme was a bit of fun, wasn't it? I forgot one really cool photo of a huge bed in the middle of the barge. Will post it as soon as I water my poor thirsty garden.
Exquisite post on Her Majesties Diamond Jubilee. For centuries, roses have been the flower of choice for the British Monarchy and it's wonderful to see them celebrated during this time of jubilee!
That's amazing...would have been fun to see it with my own eyes, but your post was very close to that! Thanks Lynn!
XO
Cydney
Thanks Chris, I was delighted to be able to post these photos. It's amazing how they were able to use to roses to match the royal colors. I have heard the Queen has her own private rose garden and some of her blooms were included in the extravaganza!
Cydney,I was so happy to be able to show the fabulous blooms and add a bit of "local lore" to the story. It's hard to imagine all the work that went into the displays. xxoo Lynn
I am an incorrigible anglophile and would have given nearly anything to see the flotilla. Better yet to be one of the many kayakers I saw paddling the event.
It must've been a once in a lifetime experience for everyone who joined the flotilla, Les. I was interested to learn so many of the Dunkirk boats had survived or have been restored.
I saw a feature on Gardener's World (UK, BBC) about these garlands. The sheer number of plants and flowers involve was mind-boggling and they had to assemble and site them all at the last minute so they wouldn't look wilted. It was quite amazing, just a shame it threw it down with rain on the day.
Hi Sunil,
I'd mentioned in my earlier posting that they'd done several trial runs to see how the garlands stood up to wind and rain. Apparently they didn't fall apart and stayed fresh for three days. Wish some of my bouquets would do that!!
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