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Florists in Devon were celebrating last month after the bravery of one of Plymouth’s best known florists raised over £500 for St Luke’s Hospice.

Heidi Blake, who is the manager of Yvonne’ s in Plymouth, faced her fear of heights and performed a skydive from 15,000 feet to raise the money. Staff and florists applauded her efforts and were keen to emphasise just how scared of heights she actually is.

Joining florists in Oxford, London and all over the country in raising money for charity, Yvonne’s dedicates a lot of its time to charities like St Luke’s Hospice, Breast Cancer Care and The Poppy Appeal every year.

Its fundraising efforts normally comprise events such as sponsored charity walks in and around the area, but the manager this year really added a new meaning to the phrase ‘the sky is the limit’. Skydives and florists don’t normally go in the sentence, but Ms Blake has done plenty to challenge that this year.

A skydive of 15,000 feet is an impressive thing for anybody to complete, but it is especially impressive for somebody with an intense fear of great heights. It took great bravery for Ms Blake to complete the jump, which makes every penny of the cash raised even more worthwhile.

Yvonne’s has been well established for over four decades now and continues to integrate itself with the local community. The florist uses the best flowers Exeter and Plymouth have to offer in a variety of community events, including the Mutley & Greenbank Festivals in May and December every year, providing the local community with the best floral delights and some of the most useful tips in the world of floristry.

For many years now, Yvonne’s has worked closely with the leading flower experts in the UK, Interflora, to improve floral design and passion in the local area. The florist is dedicated to working with the local community to spread the word about the wonderful world of flowers. Moreover, it is still dedicated to its annual pursuits of fundraising for the above charities.

Of course, the bar has now been set pretty high by Ms Blake, so who knows what is in store for next year’s fundraising events.