On a third‑generation farm in Victoria’s Macedon Ranges, Olivia Coutts, founder of @Pemberley of Malmsbury, has just received the inaugural Florist Choice Award – a newly introduced, peer‑voted honour recognising originality and creative excellence, as chosen by fellow florists exhibiting at the Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show.

Unlike traditional judging, the award reflects recognition from within the industry itself – celebrating creative direction, storytelling and the courage to present deeply personal work in a highly public environment.

Olivia’s winning installation, PEARL, was inspired by a Vincent Van Gogh quote: “The heart of [wo]man is very much like the sea, it has its storms, it has its tides and in its depths it has its pearls too.”

Responding to the show theme Kaleidoscope, the work explored life as an ever‑changing wave – unpredictable, fractured and evolving. Almost all of the flowers and botanicals were grown by Olivia herself on her family farm, or sourced from nearby micro flower growers she actively supports.

The story behind the award-winning artwork is deeply personal.

  • In her twenties, while working as an English teacher, Olivia noticed a lump on her arm. It was diagnosed as rare cancer.
  • Years later, while pregnant with her first child, doctors discovered a tumour had returned, leading to major surgery at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. During recovery, she turned to growing her own flowers and taught herself floristry.
  • Today, Olivia lives with her family on the farm multi‑generational farm, balancing sheep, cattle and cropping alongside her botanical patch and in demand creative studio. 
  • While she creates select event work, her true passion lies in floral art that centres storytelling, emotional connection and wellbeing, a sensibility shaped by her background in literature and teaching.

Olivia says, “During my cancer treatment, flowers and gardening became something I could hold on to when everything else felt uncertain. Putting my hands in the soil, watching something grow, finding beauty in small details, it grounded me. Creating floral art now brings me so much joy because it’s deeply connected to that healing. It reminds me that even in the darkest, most difficult times, beauty can still exist, and sometimes it emerges because of the struggle. If I can help someone else feel even a fraction of that comfort and connection, then my work has done its job.”

Images supplied by FleishmanHillard