An amazing event occurred recently at the Olessky castle historical monument: for a few days its stonewalls and rooms were put under siege by flowers. A vast number of flowers, along with the kinds of plants that gardens, allotments, and fields give so generously in the fall: eggplants, apples, grapes, red pepper, etc. However, this was not connected with some kind of agricultural fair. It was the first time a national competition of florists had taken place in Ukraine. And around forty Ukrainian florists, both amateurs and professionals, decorated the Olessky castle with flowers. Their skill and creative imagination made it look like a huge bouquet, a kind of Ukrainian ikebana.
The contest comprised three stages. The first task for the artists of the horticultural genre was to represent their dreams in still life. What couldn’t you see in their pictures! Pears, cherry-plums, guelder roses, walnuts, kidney beans, carrots, onions, garlic, cabbage, pumpkins do not exhaust the list of the ‘paints’ used by the florists. But these were all dominated by roses, gladioluses, lilies, and marigolds. After that the participants had to fashion a King Yan III’s candlestick. Indeed, everyone decorated this integral segment of royal rooms in their own fashion, so that it took the forms of a bridal veil, a raincoat, and even a funny devil with horns and hoofs. To conclude the contest the participators worked on a surprise theme.
Eventually the jury headed by Nikolae Agop, an experienced florist from Moldova, announced the verdict. Olena Budko from Kyiv received first prize ($300): her candlestick made from orange maple leaves amazed all the visitors. Another Kyivan, Polina Shkolnikova, took the second prize of $200. Girls from Kyiv, Lviv, and Ternopil, as well as from Zhytomyr, Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, and Kramatorsk took part in the floristic battle, with three men also taking part.
Had we lived in the epoch of kings,” said Natalia Aheyeva, Director of the Kyiv School of Florists, “they would have been happy with our work.”
According to Natalia, the first masters of the florist courses will graduate from the school in 2003 with standard state diplomas.
Only in ten years will the next competition of florists be held in the Olessky castle again. But as part of the Through Historical Places event such contests will take place in another 17 cultural monuments of Ukraine. For example, next fall Ukrainian florists will decorate the castle of Kamyanets-Podilsky with flowers.
