A mum created a "fairytale" dress - made of more than 200 fresh flowers for her daughter. <br /><br />Anita Lee-Archer, 48, modelled the dress on her daughter, Bella, 18, and spent around two hours arranging different dahlias - hand-picked from her garden.<br /><br />The mum-of-five created the outfit as part of her fine art degree at the University of Tasmania.<br /><br />Anita decided to go back to university five years ago to pursue her dreams after being told as a child she'd never earn a living if she made a career out of art. <br /><br />Now she combines her love of gardening with art - creating impressive art installations.<br /><br />Anita, an artist, from Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, said: "I used bird netting and thread the flowers through the holes.<br /><br />"I had seven buckets of 30 flowers.<br /><br />"It turned out how I wanted it. <br /><br />"It's really fun."<br /><br />Anita says she was discouraged from going down an art route when she finished school and instead worked as a nurse and midwife.<br /><br />She said: "I have always been a creative.<br /><br />"When I finished school people always said 'you won't earn any money doing art'."<br /><br />But Anita never forgot her love and when they moved to Tasmania she asked her husband, Matt, 47, a neurologist, if she could enrol in university.<br /><br />She started her course in 2020 and has always loved painting flowers in particular.<br /><br />Anita said: "I went back to university to fulfil my dreams.<br /><br />"I really want to paint flowers. I breed different varieties and paint them.<br /><br />"I have always been a gardener.<br /><br />"It's nice to combine my loves.<br /><br />"I was told painting flowers was boring and not exciting enough.<br /><br />"But another lecturer told me 'it's your work, you need to do what you love'."<br /><br />Anita created the flower dress by using bird netting and fresh flowers.<br /><br />She said: "One of my dreams is to do a big public installation.<br /><br />"So I started at home.<br /><br />"It was really heavy. She could hardly walk. <br /><br />"Initially it was going to be a strapless dress. I had to fashion straps.<br /><br />"It was fun to destroy. I made her jump on the trampoline."<br /><br />Anita also created an installation over her 'apple walk' - by hanging flowers from the arches and dyeing a charity shop wedding dress pink for Bella to model.<br /><br />She said: "I wanted her to look surreal. It looks like she's out of a fairytale."<br /><br />Anita graduates from her course at the end of this year and wants to continue creating flower-themed art.<br /><br />She said: "My garden has been my solace.<br /><br />"It means a lot to me being in the garden.<br /><br />"I want to paint things that are beautiful."
