Journey to the 'World Cup' of flowers of a Vietnamese girl

After 8 years pursuing a career in flower arranging, Rose Cao became the first Vietnamese to win an award at the Chelsea Flower Show 2023, an exhibition considered the World Cup for flower arrangers.

Rose Cao Pilipets (Cao Thi Huyen), 37 years old, an overseas Vietnamese living in Serbia, is one of the rare Asian faces appearing at the Chelsea Flower Show held in London, England, from May 23-27.

Her work Dance of Light was awarded the Silver Award in the street lamp flower decoration category at the exhibition, making Huyen the first Vietnamese-American to win an award in the history of the Chelsea Flower Show. This is one of the most prestigious flower competitions in the world , considered the "World Cup" for gardeners and florists.

Rose Cao Pilipets (Cao Thi Huyen) at the Chelsea Flower Show 2023 in London on May 24. Photo provided by the character

"Participating in this year's exhibition is a dream I once thought would be very difficult to achieve, and it has become a milestone of great significance in my career journey," Huyen told VnExpress .

Huyen’s journey to the art of flower arrangement began about 8 years ago, when she was an employee of a branch in Singapore of an American oil and gas corporation. She initially enrolled in a basic flower arrangement class just to relieve the pressure at work, then became passionate about the field of flower arrangement art.

Huyền said that the time she found the art of flower arrangement was also the time when a wave of personnel cuts hit the company due to the Asian financial crisis and the sharp drop in world oil prices. Huyền witnessed many colleagues being laid off, including her 55-year-old adoptive mother in Singapore, who could not find another job after being forced to leave the company.

"I realized then that dedicating my whole life to a multinational corporation cannot guarantee eternal stability. Any illusion of security disappears in times of crisis," she said.

This insecurity motivated her to pursue her passion for flower arrangement so that she could truly take control of her life. In addition to her company hours, she organized flower arrangement classes in the evenings and worked at a Singapore flower shop every weekend.

In 2016, Huyen decided to register for the international flower competition at the Singapore Garden Festival. She passed two qualifying rounds to become one of the top 6 artists in the final round held at the Singapore Royal Garden.

At that time, Huyen was eight months pregnant with her first child, but she continued to go to the company to work during the day, and at night she was present in the exhibition area to display her work. Huyen was awarded the Silver Apricot Flower Cup with the theme of table flower decoration, which was also the highest award because no contestant in this category that year received a gold cup.

She said that international flower awards value humanity and respect the individual artistic feelings of each designer, not focusing on winning or losing, so they usually do not award first, second, or third prizes. "Instead, the award is a certification of the designer's skill level compared to the international level," Huyen explained.

Huyen returned to Vietnam with her husband in late 2016, before the whole family settled in Serbia in 2019, where she started an online flower arrangement teaching business.

When this year's Chelsea Flower Show was held with nearly 300 leading companies, nurseries, garden and flower designers from the UK and around the world, Huyen decided to participate, even though she had not competed in any international competitions for many years due to family and child-rearing commitments.

The 110-year-old exhibition showcases international flower and garden designs, plant varieties, products and new gardening trends. Huyen estimates that her total cost for her trip to London to compete at the Chelsea Flower Show 2023 will be more than $13,500, mostly funded by donors.

Huyen's Light Dance at Chelsea Flower Show 2023. Photo provided by the character

During the 6-day event, Huyen and the artists had to constantly change the flowers to ensure the freshness of the works for the exhibition. The event displayed more than 100 garden and flower designs and 270 booths introducing gardening products.

Huyen felt a bit regretful about the final result, due to an incident during the preparation process that made the actual product different from the original sketch approved in November 2022.

However, she still feels proud of her journey to the world's most prestigious flower exhibition, as well as appreciates the enthusiastic help from those who believed in her ability.

Now, in addition to teaching and designing landscapes for clients, she earns extra income from a recently published book, as well as videos about gardening products and "green" marketing advice on her YouTube channel.

Huyen feels content with her life in the countryside on the outskirts of Serbia's capital Belgrade, as well as pursuing her passion for flower arranging, which gives her "the freedom I desire".

Vnexpress.net