Salisbury Cathedral has been the subject of a few posts on this site over the years including the works of John Constable and John Mallord William Turner. On the occasion of my most recent visit the subject was not paintings but flowers though. An unusual subject for me. In a very ambitious project the cathedral created a festival of flowers on the theme of water. It is an appropriate theme for Salisbury lying at the confluence of five rivers and its cathedral appearing to float on the water meadows.

The Spirit of Water festival celebrated not only the religious essence of water but also the skills and enthusiasm of all the local flower arrangers in Wiltshire, Hampshire and Dorset. Sherborne Abbey were represented by Ali Bennett, Anne Pugsley, Eileen Fort and Susie Harris with their stunning display dominating the nave. Two traditional urns were presented with spires of delphiniums and agapanthus in a bed of indigo blue hydrangeas and pittosporum.

In all there were sixty four different displays from various organisations. I was taken by the ethereal Mist and Clouds which dominated the east end of the quire. Included in the fine wire mesh were pockets of coloured chrysanthemums and agapanthus. They brought out the glory of Gabriel Loire’s twentieth century stained glass window.

The Festival was the result of six years hard planning by Michael Bower, Creative Director of Flowers for the cathedral and his team. It ran from 13th – 18th May and attracted a staggering 15,000 visitors. As well as seeing the festival they will have seen William Pye’s wonderfully innovative font at the rear of the nave. One of its three inscriptions reminds us of God’s message in Isaiah 43, that ‘as we pass through the waters, I will be with you’

Although the Festival is finished the theme of water will continue at Salisbury Cathedral later in the summer. From 7th June until 28th September there will be an exhibition of contemporary art on the theme of Living Water. I will certainly be returning again.