Blooms surround famous Corpus Chronophage Clock in Cambridge as part of ‘flower flash’

Flowers were installed around Corpus Christi College’s famous clock today (Tuesday, June 27) as part of a nationwide ‘flower flash’.

The display was installed by the Cambridge branch of the flower farming network Flowers from the Farm to celebrate British Flower Week.

The large, temporary installation around the Corpus Chronophage Clock was in place for just one-day.

The display was installed after repairs were completed to the casing of the clock, which was vandalised earlier this year.

Cissy Bullock of Wildstems, one of the lead designers of the flower flash, said: “We are grateful to Corpus Christi College for allowing us to use the ‘Grasshopper Clock’ as the backdrop for this floral installation.

“The window of opportunity for addressing our environmental challenges is narrowing; time is literally ticking by, and the hammer that hits a wooden coffin in the clock at the strike of each hour is important symbolically to us as a group of sustainable floral designers.”

Cissy added: “We wanted to create something beautiful and ephemeral – a floral gift to the people of Cambridge - that helps raise awareness of sustainability in the floristry industry and to showcase the many local flower farmers there are surrounding our city.”

The clock was created by Corpus Christi alumnus and honorary fellow Dr John C Taylor OBE and unveiled by Prof Stephen Hawking on September 19, 2008.

The floral installation was constructed using moss, chicken wire, tension wire and small water-filled vessels, with no single-use plastic or floral foam. All the flowers were to be composted after the installation to feed the soil and next year’s flowers.