From Claridge's to Kew Gardens: The Floral Journey Behind Our Fan Favourite Award
- Felicity Wiggins
- 2 days ago
- 13 min read
Updated: 18 hours ago
How one extraordinary floral journey took Amega Fleur Floral Design from one of London's most iconic hotels to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and why this story is about far more than an award.
Some projects stay with you forever.
Not simply because of the recognition they receive, but because of the people they honour, the stories they tell and the emotions they evoke.
As floral designers, we are privileged to create flowers for some of life's most meaningful moments, from weddings and celebrations to commemorations, events and artistic installations.
Every project begins in much the same way: with a story waiting to be told.
Looking back at 2025, one particular story unfolded in a way we could never have imagined. It took us from the elegance of Claridge's in London to the grounds of Highclere Castle and, just two weeks later, to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, where our floral interpretation of Lady Mary Crawley was voted Fan Favourite at Fleurs De Villes.
At the time, we quietly moved on to the next project without properly sharing what had happened.
A year later, it feels like the right time to tell the story.
It Began with an Extraordinary Brief
Our journey began when Tina and Karen, from Fleurs De Villes, reached out at the beginning of August 2025, to ask us to be involved in a special project: creating a life sized floral mannequin of the late Dame Maggie Smith and her unforgettable portrayal of Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, as part of the press junket to launch the movie: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
A few days earlier, their first email had included the words, “We have something brewing that could be even BIGGER… I need someone I can trust.”
At the time, we had no idea what the project would be, or just how extraordinary the following few weeks would become.
There were so many moving parts and, with just one month's notice, we had a lot to prepare. An incredible florist for the Miami show had created a wonderful design in honour of the Dowager and they kindly shared images of the installation with me.
When the invitation arrived, my immediate reaction was “How on earth are we going to do this?!” Closely followed by an enormous sense of excitement and genuine honour at being asked.
Tina and Karen are a force to be reckoned with, they created a luxury global exhibition company that produces fresh floral shows and experiential events.
Having worked with them before at Eltham Palace, I not only admire their company but they are two of the nicest people to collaborate with.
So it was always going to be a yes!
We knew from the beginning that this couldn't simply be a mannequin covered in beautiful flowers.
It needed to capture a character.
The Dowager Countess was elegant, formidable, witty and instantly recognisable. Our challenge was to take those qualities and translate them into flowers.
Designing the Dowager Countess
The creative process began with researching the costume designer, the colours and period of the outfit and its intricate details, from the walking stick and brooches to the lace bow tie, high collared white blouse and beautiful purple, floor length Victorian two piece jacket and skirt.
We wanted the finished installation to feel regal, elegant and commanding, reflecting the personality of the Dowager while also bringing in the feeling of an English country garden.
Our floral palette combined fresh and dried materials in shades of lavender, purple, ivory and soft pink. Creating texture and definition was particularly important, allowing us to distinguish different areas of the clothing and reflect the pattern and tactility of the original garment.
Using dried materials for the jacket, hat, jewellery and blouse also helped to give these areas greater longevity while the mannequin was being transported and displayed. This meant that only the lower skirt and surrounding fresh floral arrangements would need refreshing throughout her journey.
At the base of the design, scented foliage including pistache, ivy, myrtle, Italian ruscus and moss was combined with roses, hydrangeas, carnations, delphiniums, limonium, snapdragons and orchids.
One of the most important elements was actually the Dowager’s cane, an iconic detail that we recreated using twisted willow.
Her jewellery required a particularly steady hand, with intricate details created from tiny glixia heads and lunaria. Her Victorian high necked blouse and necktie were made using hundreds of delicate lunaria pods, fragile but beautifully effective.
And then there was the hair.
The Dowager’s hairstyle is so recognisable that we knew we had to get it right. To recreate her beautifully twisted and rolled hairstyle of the era, we used grey raffia, carefully sewn into woven sections before being attached to a handmade wig cap.
This is one of the things I love most about floral design. Flowers and botanical materials don’t simply provide colour or decoration. Their shape, movement, texture and even the way they age can all contribute to the story we’re trying to tell.
80 Hours, 700+ Blooms and an Eight-Hour Installation
Creating a life-sized floral mannequin is very different from creating a traditional floral arrangement.
More than 80 hours went into the construction of the Dowager, with over 700 fresh blooms used to bring the design to life.
Our installation at Claridge's took eight hours, with a team of four and much of the preparation taking place at the Amega Fleur floral design studio before the final installation. The flowers were supplied by Tom Brown Wholesale.
Behind those numbers, however, was an enormous amount of problem-solving.
The finished piece had to be beautiful, but it also had to be structurally sound, transportable and capable of remaining at its best as it moved between several prestigious venues.
We used reusable containers, tubes and chicken wire wherever possible. However, because the flowers needed to be transported and remain fresh for more than eight days across three venues, avoiding water spills was essential. Bio Oasis was therefore used where necessary, but kept to a minimum.
For us, sustainability doesn’t mean reducing the ambition of a design. It means thinking carefully about how that design is created, while also being realistic about the practical and strict requirements of the venues in which we work.
The Moment She Arrived at Claridge's
The completed Dowager made her debut at Claridge's in London as part of the press launch for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
Seeing something that had existed first as an idea, then as sketches, mechanics and hundreds of individual flowers finally standing inside Claridge's was incredible.
I particularly remember Tina’s face when she saw the jacket and hat for the first time.
Then, as we constructed the complete mannequin, we began seeing the wonderful reactions from guests staying at Claridge’s and from the Claridge’s Flowers team. It was incredibly heartwarming.
But her journey within Claridge’s wasn’t quite over.
Initially positioned at the top of the grand staircase, she was later moved down to the Drawing Room for the influencer event.
Transporting a life sized mannequin constructed from hundreds of fresh flowers through one of London’s most famous hotels was both funny and stressful. We had very little time and some very tiny lifts!
At one point, we found ourselves carrying the upper half of the mannequin down the stairs, receiving some lovely smiles from guests and staff along the way. The Claridge’s team were incredibly helpful, for which I was very grateful.
Karen and Tina certainly got their steps in too.
Together, we worked as a team to move an extremely tall and heavy installation, standing approximately nine feet tall on a three foot by three foot base, through the hotel.
These are the moments that aren’t always visible in the finished photographs, but they’re an important part of creating large scale floral installations.
From Claridge's to the Premiere After-Party
The Dowager's journey then continued beyond Claridge's.
She travelled to Brasserie Zédel in London for the Official Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale after-party.
To see the floral tribute become part of the celebrations surrounding the final chapter of Downton Abbey was incredibly special.
And still, her journey wasn't finished.
Taking the Dowager Home to Highclere Castle
From London, the mannequin travelled to Highclere Castle on 5 September, ready for its Weekend to Remember event (6th-7th September 2025).
There was something particularly poignant about this part of the journey.
After beginning at Claridge’s and appearing at the premiere celebrations, our floral interpretation of the Dowager was now standing at the real life home of Downton Abbey.
She was positioned in her own marquee, surrounded by the legacy of Dame Maggie Smith and her iconic character, the Dowager Countess of Grantham.
Tina and Karen’s transport team kindly moved her for us and we met them at Highclere Castle to rebuild and refresh elements of the installation.
For me, seeing her there was quite emotional. After everything that had gone into creating her and everywhere she had travelled, the Dowager was finally home.
If you haven’t visited Highclere, it really is a must.
As a lover of Downton Abbey, being at such a prestigious and beautiful location was a dream. Having the opportunity to bring the Dowager to life there was, dare I say, a little emotional.
Visitors throughout the weekend loved her and there were so many photographs taken. We also had the pleasure of meeting Lady Carnarvon and the incredibly hardworking team at Highclere Castle.
There really was such a sense of joy in the air.
It felt like a fitting final chapter for a design that had already travelled much further than we had originally imagined.
We thought that might be the end of our Downton Abbey floral story.
It wasn’t.
Two Weeks Later, Lady Mary Arrived
Just two weeks later, we were preparing for another extraordinary challenge.
Amega Fleur had been invited to create a second floral mannequin for Fleurs de Villes at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
This time, our inspiration was Lady Mary Crawley.
Having previously worked with the Fleurs de Villes team for their Eltham Palace event in 2024, we were delighted to be invited back for the 2025 show.
To be allocated Lady Mary was a dream come true.
Although the Dowager and Lady Mary share the same Downton Abbey world, creatively they are very different women.
Lady Mary called for a completely different floral interpretation.
We wanted visitors to feel her personality and presence through the design, while also paying homage to the iconic red dress designed by Anna Mary Scott Robbins.
For me, the dress is so memorable. Although seemingly simple, recreating it required careful consideration of visual balance, detail, elegance and the proportions of the era.
To create its slim fitting silhouette, I used preserved red petals along the front and down the back of the dress to form its shape.
While researching the original design, I became fascinated by the clever construction of the long cross back, cutting from the shoulders towards the waist before flowing to the floor. It gave me an opportunity to create something particularly dramatic when the installation was viewed from behind, and this became an important influence on both my flower selection and placement.
It was also important to me to work sustainably throughout the installation, so I spent considerable time working through the mechanics and exploring how we could achieve the design in a more considered way.
To create drama and elegance, we used red anthuriums as a band across the design, carefully positioning them to follow the 45 degree seam lines of the dress. Beneath them sat a more abundant selection of flowers including hydrangeas, dianthus, celosia, gerberas, roses and chrysanthemums.
But I didn’t want Lady Mary’s story to be only about the dress.
We created different areas within the installation as talking points, each revealing something about her life or personality.
At her feet lay a bridal bouquet of white calla lilies, representing her first marriage to her late husband, Matthew Crawley.
Moving around the design, a quieter area of foliage, spiky protea and blue thistle reflected her sharp wit and sometimes equally spiky personality.
This then led towards a tall urn covered in preserved moss and filled with a beautiful arrangement of brightly coloured English flowers and rather grand orchids, reflecting the Crawley family’s status in the early 1930s.
Technically, Lady Mary presented a completely different set of challenges.
Approximately 80 hours went into the meticulous placement of flowers and the creation of her hair, crown and jewellery, together with around 1,200 stems that needed to remain hydrated throughout the exhibition, supported by a carefully considered refreshment plan for the week.
Once again, our aim wasn’t simply to make something beautiful.
We wanted visitors to recognise a personality and, more importantly, to feel something when they saw her.
Floral Art and Sustainable Floristry at Kew Gardens
Lady Mary joined more than 20 floral installations at Fleurs de Villes at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Seeing our work displayed within one of the world’s most celebrated botanical gardens, surrounded by the work of other talented floral designers, was joyous.
But Kew also gave me an opportunity to share another part of Amega Fleur’s philosophy that is extremely important to me: sustainable floristry.
During the exhibition, I presented demonstrations exploring floral tablescapes and the English hand tied bouquet, giving me an opportunity to talk about sustainability and share some of the techniques we use.
Rather than simply talking about sustainable floristry, I wanted to show visitors practical ideas they could understand and potentially recreate themselves.
We explored using chicken wire in vases, creating armatures and reusing containers, as well as demonstrating alternatives to traditional floral foam, including OshunPouch, Floral Fibre and the Holly Chapple Pillow.
One of the loveliest parts of the experience happened afterwards.
While walking through the gardens, we were approached by several visitors who thanked me for the presentation and asked questions about sustainability and how we had created both Lady Mary and the Dowager.
That was incredibly heartwarming.
It meant so much to know that I had been able to share some of my knowledge and, hopefully, help inspire people to try some of the techniques themselves.
Those conversations mattered because sustainability and beautiful floral design should never be seen as opposing ideas.
We believe they can, and should, exist together.
And Then Something Rather Wonderful Happened
Throughout Fleurs de Villes, visitors were invited to vote for their favourite floral mannequin.
At the end of the exhibition, I got a text!
And shortly afterwards, it was announced by the Fleurs de Villes team on social media that...
Lady Mary had been voted Fan Favourite!!!
My immediate reaction was absolute delight.
What made it particularly special was knowing that visitors had interacted with Lady Mary, enjoyed her story and connected with the design enough to vote for her.
After everything that had happened, from the first invitation to create the Dowager, those extraordinary days at Claridge’s, the premiere celebrations and Highclere Castle, followed almost immediately by creating Lady Mary, it felt like an incredibly special conclusion.
And then we did something rather typical of a busy creative business.
We moved on to the next project.
So, somewhat remarkably, we never properly shared that Lady Mary had won Fan Favourite.
Until now.
What Fan Favourite Means to Me Now
A year later, I think I understand the significance of the award differently.
Of course, winning was wonderful.
But what matters most is why people voted.
They connected with the work.
They stopped to look.
They noticed the detail.
Perhaps it made them smile, remember a favourite character or simply marvel at what could be created from flowers.
Looking back now, winning Fan Favourite means that we succeeded in bringing the personality and story of Lady Mary to life in a way that allowed visitors to engage with her, perhaps be inspired, and simply enjoy the experience of the Fleurs de Villes Downton Abbey show.
For a floral designer, creating that emotional response is perhaps one of the greatest compliments we can receive.
The Team Behind the Flowers
These projects were very much a team effort. I was incredibly fortunate to have Amy, Grace, Heidi, Helen, Sue and Martin alongside me at different stages of the journey, helping with everything from construction and preparation to installation and all the many details required to bring the designs to life.
I am enormously grateful to the Amega Fleur team for the skill, hard work and commitment they brought to both projects.
More Than Beautiful Flowers
People sometimes ask where our inspiration comes from.
The answer isn’t simply flowers.
It’s people. Stories. Places. History. Architecture. Fashion. Nature.
And, above all, emotion.
Whether we’re creating an artistic floral installation, designing flowers for an event or working with a couple on their wedding flowers, we begin by understanding the story we are being asked to tell.
One of the questions we ask our wedding couples is:
How do you want to feel?
It’s a deceptively simple question.
But emotion influences so many design decisions, from colour and scale to texture, movement and the atmosphere we create within a space.
The same thinking that helped us interpret the Dowager Countess and Lady Mary influences the way we approach every Amega Fleur design.
We’re professionally trained floral designers, which means we aren’t tied to one prescribed floral style. Instead, we use our experience and creativity to interpret the person, place and occasion in front of us.
Luxury, Sustainability, Creativity and Experience
Looking back, those extraordinary few weeks represented so much of what Amega Fleur Floral Design has grown to stand for: considered luxury, thoughtful sustainable practice, creativity and the experience needed to turn an ambitious idea into reality.
Those principles continue to guide everything we create today.
Taking Time to Look Back
Perhaps one of the lessons I’ve taken from this experience has nothing to do with flowers.
When you run a creative business, you’re always looking forward.
The next wedding.
The next event.
The next deadline.
The next idea.
Sometimes we forget to stop and recognise what has already happened.
If I could talk to myself just before starting the Dowager project, knowing what I know now, I would say:
“Trust yourself.”
Creating the Dowager and Lady Mary took us from Claridge’s to Brasserie Zédel, Highclere Castle and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
And somewhere along that extraordinary journey, Lady Mary became a Fan Favourite.
We might be a little late in celebrating it.
But perhaps some stories are worth returning to.
To everyone who visited, stopped to talk to us, attended one of my demonstrations, photographed our work or voted for Lady Mary, thank you.
And to everyone who continues to trust Amega Fleur Floral Design with their own stories, celebrations and important moments, thank you too.
Because after all the flowers, mechanics, sketches, planning and installations, the question we keep returning to is remarkably simple:
How did it make you feel?
For us, that’s where truly memorable floral design begins.
About Amega Fleur Floral Design
Amega Fleur Floral Design is a luxury sustainable floral design studio based on Mersea Island, creating bespoke flowers for weddings, events and meaningful occasions across Essex, Suffolk, London, the East of England and beyond.
Led by Owner and Creative Director Felicity Wiggins, the studio combines professional floristry, creativity, experience and considered sustainable practice to create floral designs that tell a story and make people feel something.