To celebrate the Diamond Jubilee this summer, the Flower Council of Holland has worked with its growers to create a lily fit for a Queen.
Chosen especially for its beautiful, patriotic colour and feminine yet strong characteristics, the specially baptised, limited edition Jubi-lily has been unveiled as the must-have accessory to celebrate the Queen’s 60th year on the throne.
To mark this very special occasion, the Flower Council of Holland has commissioned a living portrait. Using the iconic 1985 image of a young Queen Elizabeth, the portrait measures two metres by three metres and incorporates 200 of the vibrant red Jubi-lilies, of which only 300 have been grown, as well as six other striking varieties.
The image was made up from over 400 lily stems equating to over 6000 petals and took a team of eight florists over 14 hours to plan and create it.
The Portrait will be on show to the public in Old Street, London until Tuesday 5th June. Members of the public, however, can also enter a competition to get their hands on one of these extremely rare pieces of Diamond Jubilee memorabilia by entering a competition through Facebook and twitter.
Marijke Rethans from the Flower Council of Holland said: “The unique symbolism of these beautiful Flowers - love, purity and femininity - made lilies an obvious choice for such an inspiring and iconic woman. We wanted to celebrate this very special occasion in a way that would be fitting to the Queen and what better way than to immortalise her in one of her favourite Flowers – the lily.”
The lily and its symbolism has been associated with royalty throughout history, with Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother even calling Queen Elizabeth II ‘Lilibet’ as a small child. Her reign of 60 years is the second longest for a British monarch; only Queen Victoria has reigned longer. In fact it seems Queen Elizabeth II is not the only Royal who is a fan of lilies - Kate Middleton’s bouquet at the Royal wedding included lily of the valley which she has been quoted as saying it is one of her favourite flowers.
by Taryn Davies
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by Sandra 31st May 2012 15:50
This is beautiful. I can't wait to celebrate this weekend. We're having a big street party.