A TEENAGER who has already fulfilled her dream of setting up her own florist’s shop, has now secured a prestigious award.

Charlotte Vayro, 17, from Masham, received first prize and Best in Show at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show recently with her floral recreation of Marilyn Monroe outfit.

She created the dress using pampas heads, orchids and 250 spray roses to a wire mesh, in the category for floral creations based around the theme, “divas’ dressing room”.

The 17-year-old is studying floristry at Askham Bryan College in York with the intention of one day owning her own florists shop, but when a business came up for sale in her home town, she decided to take the plunge.

As she wasn’t yet 18, she wasn’t able to open a business account, but with the help of her parents, Charlotte opened her business, named Emmaline’s, on March 8 this year.

Charlotte said: “I’d been offered jobs in York and Leeds but I wanted to be near my home town, so when this came up for sale I really wanted to do it. I’d always wanted to own my own florists but didn’t realise it would be so quick; we have four weddings booked this year already.”

Another winner in the Harrogate Spring Flower Show was a pint-sized pocket garden, measuring just one metre square, inspired by the spring wildflowers of the Yorkshire Dales.

It was created in a joint venture between the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) and pupils from Bainbridge Church of England Primary and Nursery School for the new Pocket Garden category.

The garden, which was awarded a Certificate of Achievement by judges at the Harrogate Spring Flower Show, will be re-created in the school garden after the show for the children to enjoy, and the local wildlife to thrive on.