Taking Green Bay floral art to international success

Local floral artist, Juliet Leonard, from Green Bay not as easy as it looks but it Florist has a smile as big and bright as a sunflower does give you a great buzz. when she talks about her high placing at the recent “I love flowers. They World Association of Floral Artists Show (WAFA) in are my passion. I don’t Jaipur, India. feel as though I come to

A first-time competitor at the international show, work at all. I just come in Juliet achieved second place in the Impose Class for and get on with making her entry Peek-A-Boo and is now hard at work thinking up beautiful bouquets and about a creation she aims to enter in the Designer of arrangements. I love to see the Year competition in Orewa this month (Covid-19 what Sky brings from the permitting). market each week,” she

Following a career in insurance, Juliet did a course in says. “And I love Green Bay floristy at Unitech some years back and was hooked. and the people. It’s a lovely About five years ago, she bought the shop in Green Bay sunny group of shops and in which she now works with daughter Sky. the people are terrific.”

A member of the Mt Roskill Floral Art Group, Juliet – Moira Kennedy says floral art is all about creating flower arrangements in vases, bowls, baskets, or other containers, or making bouquets and compositions from cut flowers, foliages, Juliet Leonard (right) and daughter Sky in the Green herbs, ornamental grasses, and other plant materials. Bay Florist shop.

The aim is to create eye-catching and balanced compositions or displays and may include making wreaths, nosegays, garlands, festoons, boutonnières, corsages, and bows. Piha performing across the board

Juliet says the Indian experience was like nothing else she had experienced: the colour, the venues (palaces Piha Surf Life Saving Club found themselves with much to celebrate as the and the like) and meeting floral artists from all over annual Surf Life Saving Northern Region Awards of Excellence ventured online the world. About 35 New Zealand artists made the trip to recognise the efforts of some of New Zealand’s top athletes and lifeguards. alongside participants from 28 other countries. The coveted award for Lifeguard of the Year was awarded to Rhys Lloyd

In her suitcase she had a ‘variety of wires and a (below left), a club member who started as a Nipper at the age of seven and, toolkit’, and in her mind, a few ideas of what her entry now aged 20, is Vice Club-Captain. might look like. Other necessities were provided by Lucy Makaea and Levi Ata (below right) won the U19 Sportswoman of the show organisers – a variety of materials including silver Year and U19 Sportsman of the Year respectively. Finalists Warren Tyler in Patrol leaves, yellow sticks, seed pods, hessian, floral foam Support and the Piha Piranhas in the Competition Team were also recognised. and cogs in a range of shapes and sizes. Alongside that was a large bucket of fresh plant material (gypsophilia, orchids, gerberas, chrysanthemums) and a variety of foliage. She had four hours to create her work of art.

“The time went so fast. I just finished in time and was happy with my design.”

Taking second place was a thrill for Juliet who now focuses much of her time on teaching and ‘doing the rounds of demonstrations’ of floral art with the aim of becoming a world judge, laden with plant knowledge and habitats she’s keen to share.

Juliet says her creative ideas come easily enough, but You Shop We Deliver she does worry about making them work. “Floral art is

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