A WILLOW sculpture was unveiled yesterday as garden lovers admired the snowdrop display at Twigs.

Called the Windy Lady, the sculpture was the brainchild of volunteers Chris Neal, Anna Mitchell and Helen Senior. Standing more than six feet tall, the wire-framed sculpture has been more than two years in the making.

Helen, a volunteer at the Cheney Manor gardens, said: “In 2016, we were deciding what we were going to do with some willow the next year. We found a picture from the internet of a willow figure blowing in the wind. We thought it was a good idea at the time.”

She joked: “We all enjoyed working as a team, but there were some times when you thought, ‘Why did we start this?’”

The sculpture was christened the Windy Lady. “The name stuck,” Helen laughed.

The artwork was revealed as dozens of visitors dropped into Twigs for the popular Snowdrop Sunday event.

Now in its fourth year, the event initially started when volunteers planted 10,000 snowdrop bulbs in memory of Helen Senior’s mother, Nancy, who died aged 87.

“My mum and I had this tradition that we would always go to a different snowdrop garden every year,” she said. “It was always the way of starting the new year.

“When she died, I wanted to create something positive.

“We hadn’t got an open day at this time of year at Twigs. I thought I would plant some snowdrops in my mum’s memory.

“I ordered 10,000 snowdrops online. The next day they rang me up and asked if I had added an extra nought to my order.”

The number was significant. Nancy and Helen had visited the Chelsea Physic Garden, where staff had planted the same number of flowers.

It also means there is a guaranteed display: “If you’re going to have a snowdrop day you’ve got to have some snowdrops.”

The flowers are expected to remain in bloom for another few weeks. Twigs Community Garden is open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 10am to 3.30pm.