Chelsea Flower Show's red carpet of poppies creators overwhelmed by response

PHOTO: The display has grown to more than 300,000 poppies. (AFP: Adrian Dennis)

MAP: United Kingdom

The Australians behind a display at the Chelsea Flower Show described as breathtaking are finishing off their week on a high after meeting the Royal family and being feted across London.

Melbourne women Lynn Berry and Margaret Knight, along with designer Philip Johnson, created a sea of poppies on the grounds of the Royal Hospital in Chelsea as a tribute to war veterans.

As part of the display, 50,000 people knitted, crocheted and handcrafted the flowers to create a stunning landscape at the Chelsea Flower Show.

PHOTO: Lynn Berry (L), Philip Johnson (C) and Margaret Knight (R). (ABC News: Lisa Millar)

"This has been an incredible and personal journey for us, we started out making this tribute for our fathers, both our fathers fought in World War II," Ms Berry said.

"And it was just a tiny, tiny little tribute and it's grown now to 300,000 poppies from around the world, but it's still a personal tribute for us.

"So for me it still about my father and for Margaret it's still about her father. And for every person that's contributed or worked on the project, they've done it for their own reasons."

Ms Knight said the moment of the week for her was when she was able to speak to the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton and Prince William.

"Because she asked me a question, so I wanted to show her something that one of our contributors had made, and so I took her over to a section of the display and she actually kneeled down to have a closer look at it," Ms Knight said.

"So I was kneeling beside her and then she said 'oh I think I've got to show this to William, he will really like this'. So she went over and got her husband, so he came over and had a look at it too and he also kneeled down."

The photo of the royal couple kneeling went viral and appeared in all of the major newspapers in the United Kingdom, giving the display a boost in coverage.

"It was an amazing experience, and without that photo I would not believe that it actually happened, I would have believed that I dreamed it," Ms Knight said.

A 'rollercoaster' experience for the group

Ms Berry said for three years they had been working on the design, she had never seen what it looked like in reality until the final day of set-up.

"When we actually finished putting it down and we sat for a moment … I think that moment when we actually turned around and looked at it for the first time completely just blew my mind really," she said.

Ms Berry said in all that time, they never tired of the project.

"It's personal for everybody and so the passion that we feel for it is amazing … so we've never, ever tired of it — any of us."

Ms Knight and Ms Berry have described the experience as a rollercoaster, saying they had been speaking to people who visited their display "non-stop since the show opened."

"As you're explaining the project and the meaning behind it, you can see the people tearing up and then you start to get emotional too," she said.

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"Because you're seeing the reaction that the general public are having to seeing the display and understanding how much meaning there is in the tribute."

Once the show is wrapped up Ms Berry said the plan was to take a portion of the poppies home to Australia.

"But we're still hoping to raise the funds to take the stemmed poppies, and you'll see all that if you come to visit the stand, over to France, over to Fromelles for the anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles," she said.

"You know for us that's what it's all about, it's about respect and honour and remembrance.

"And so we've loved every part of this journey so far, but to actually take it to the battlefields of France would be absolutely amazing."

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