Landscape designer Taina Suonio was again the only Finn to participate in a flower show organized for more than a hundred years in Britain.
Not everyone gets to present their work at the Chelsea Flower Show, one of Europe’s most famous industry events. More than 2,000 designers apply to the event every year. Suonio has participated 18 times.
More than 130,000 people visit the gardens every year.
According to Suonio, gardening is a popular topic in Britain, like the weather and football.
– In Finland, I haven’t talked about roses or peonies with very many Finnish men in their twenties or older men, but in Britain, horticulture is part of everyday conversations, Suonio says.
Suonio is tired, but satisfied. The exhibition opened on Tuesday of this week and it closes today, Saturday.
Suonio built its department almost around the clock from the beginning of May. The planning took a year.
Exhibition is a modest word to describe the glorious summer opening event. There is also competition in the high-level show. This year, Finnish expertise was recognized.
– This is still difficult to understand now, but the department was awarded with silver place. This has been practiced. I have participated in the event for 18 years, now is the fourth competition garden in a row.
The winning stand has also attracted visitors. Five hundred of the 5,000 brochures were left after the first day.
Landscape design combines with art
Taina Suonio has her own garden in Pernaja. Suonio has studied at the University of Helsinki as an environmental biologist and in Northern Ireland as a landscape designer. He combines the work of an academic researcher with creative work.
Taina Suonio is a sought-after international professional. His work has been presented both in garden publications and elsewhere. Among other things Gardens Illustratedmagazine and The Times magazine have written about the art of plants and landscape.
Sustainable development is also of interest to the king
Royals were also seen at the event this year. The king acting as patron of the exhibition Charles III visited the exhibition on a tight schedule. He did not go inside Suonio’s department, but described the garden as wonderful and wonderful as he passed by.
The monarch is an active advocate of nature conservation and architecture. House and Garden magazine has written about the topic, among others.
The general theme of the exhibition is sustainable development and natural diversity.
The topics also speak to Taina Suoniot. He draws ideas and insights from Finnishness, the sauna, the sea, the protection of the Baltic Sea and lakes.
– The value of granite is not always understood in Finland, but it is appreciated around the world. With my work, I want to tell how great a country Finland is and how wonderful nature is.
Suonio has a long and deep relationship with Britain. He and his family have lived in Northern Ireland, part of the United Kingdom, for over 13 years. Interest in garden art flourished on the green island.
Emotions are communicated in the language of flowers
Flowers are used to communicate many things, they are used for congratulations and they are used to express sadness. Taina Suonio’s own theme has a serious message under the floral splendor.
– I want to share information about cerebral cavernoma, a surprisingly common disease.
According to Suonio, 1 in 625 people in Britain suffer from brain cavernoma. It causes symptoms in a few people, but they are serious, for example brain haemorrhage.
Suonio wants to keep the subject up because finding the disease could be easier with imaging technology. A vascular malformation resembling a raspberry can be in the brain or, for example, in the spine.
– I asked a cavernoma patient for ten words about how a cavernoma affects a person’s life, Suonio says about the birth of the exhibition.
The fragility of life can be seen in Suonio’s work, for example, in that the main structures of the department are made of glass.
– When, as hoped, you can move forward in life and accept the illness and receive treatment, you can get to the balcony and see the beauty of life through the glass floor.
According to Suonio, it is valuable to learn to accept that you are not the same person, but are still good and worthy.
There are dark moments in the life of a seriously ill person. Flowers and plants also convey brutal beauty. Taina Suonio describes these shadow times with, for example, Irish Drago flowers.
– On the other side there is joy and light, pink roses. Water flowing downwards indicates that the sick person is crying. Sometimes you can deal with difficult topics with tears.
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What kind of plants do you want in your garden? What do flowers communicate to you? The subject can be discussed until Sunday at 11 p.m.