A FLORIST vows to produce a unique floral design in a bid to represent her country in next year's Interflora World Cup.

Katherine Murray, from Burnley, is competing to represent Great Britain and Ireland at the Interflora World Cup, a floral design competition showcasing the most talented floral designers around the globe, in Philadelphia next March.

The 33-year-old, who runs the Going Dutch flower shop in Nelson, will battle it out with four other hopefuls in front of a live audience at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show, in July, in a bid to represent her country and be crowned Interflora’s Florist of the Year 2018.

The national floristry competition, which has been running for more than 20 years, is held every two years to give florists the opportunity to continually develop their 'exceptional' floristry skills and creativity.

The Nelson florist overcame strong competition to win her regional heat in Rochdale, where she created a ring bearer and a bridal necklace, under the theme ‘To have and to hold’.

However the real test will come when Katherine, along with the other competitors, will be given just over an hour to interpret the surprise item brief, review the flowers, materials and tools available, and complete her design within the theme ‘A Summer Garden Party'.

Katherine, who started working at Manchester Road store 14 years ago, will need to complete four mandatory items in total for the competition final, and she will be allowed to make one of the pieces, a floral picnic basket, in advance of the competition.

The young florist will construct two of the other creations, a garden parasol and table arrangement, within a set time limit and in front of an audience of show visitors.

She said: "My previous designs were quite intricate and unusual and I’m looking forward to producing some more distinctive creations in the final too, especially when it comes to the surprise item.

"I actually like the challenge of thinking on my feet and don’t mind it when the pressure is on – I think some floristry instincts kick in.

“I love to be creative and opportunities like this allow me to do something completely different and come up with some really wild designs."

Katherine, alongside the other competitors, will be battling it out at Hampton Court Palace on Tuesday, July 3.