Students' flowers help sad poem come to life

A group of seven third-year students at Bishop Burton College, near Beverley, are working on an ambitious floral arrangement of the 1839 poem The Reaper and the Flowers, by American poet Henry Wads-worth Longfellow.

The arrangement will be unveiled at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show, being held for four days at the Great Yorkshire Showground from Thursday.

Student Lexi Young, 21, said: "Although it is a sad poem it also features a lot of beautiful imagery, comparing young children to budding flowers. We have attempted to reflect the sensitivity of the poem and Wadsworth's obvious deep feelings on the subject.

"It is a real challenge to convey his words and meanings in a floral arrangement, but we hope visitors to the show will not only enjoy it but also learn a little bit more about Wadsworth himself."

It is the first time third-year students from the college have entered the staged floristry section of the annual show.

They are also hoping to promote their efforts in America by launching their own Facebook and Twitter sites dedicated to the project, which forms part of their final year honours degree course.

Miss Young added: "It's a great honour to be competing at Harrogate but we thought it would also be great if we could literally showcase our work globally on the internet too. Hopefully, fans of Wadsworth in America and elsewhere can follow our progress and see how we get on."

The group also features Julie Bailey, Katie Grayson, Rachel Prior, Sue Walker and her daughter Dawn Walker, plus Bianca Parcell.