THREE hundred thousand handcrafted poppies have been packed into a Qantas plane bound for London and the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
The Victorian Government contributed $200,000 to help project creator Lynn Berry and landscape designer Phillip Johnson showcase the stunning collection of handcrafted poppies at the world’s most well-known flower show. The airline provided free carriage of the poppies and flights for several members of the project team.
The 5000 Poppies Project is just one of Victoria’s ANZAC Centenary commemorative efforts. Last year the project group “planted” some 250,000 poppies in Melbourne’s Federation Square as a tribute to the Australian servicemen and women killed in war, conflicts or peacekeeping operations.
An estimated 50,000 people knitted, sewed or felted their contributions to remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.
The 300,000 poppies were carefully packed and loaded into 35 cubic metres of belly space, roughly half of the available cargo hold of an A380 aircraft.
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show attracts more than 150,000 visitors each year and will be held from May 24-28.
