Anja Keller: an ode to the unknown

For April's BFF, we take a step into the imagination of Anja Keller. Her creation emerged from the BFF of the Year 2025 contest, a stage where creativity, craftsmanship and vision come together. In her work, lilies become not just flowers, but guides. Shape, color and texture flow together in an almost otherworldly landscape. It shows what happens when, as a designer, you not only create but also dare to listen.

For Anja, lilies have been a source of fascination for many years. Not only because of their rich color palette or impressive durability, but especially because of their character. Each lily has its own personality, its own way of opening, of occupying space.

That power demands something of the creator. It forces rethinking. To letting go of fixed structures. Instead of steering, a collaboration emerges. Anja describes it as a process in which she consciously surrenders a little to the flower and is guided by her first impression.

For this contest creation, Anja chose an interplay of apricot, orange and red tones. Lilies Apricot Fudge, Zelmira, Dark Secret, Pokerface and Lasting Love. Different flower shapes flow together to form a layered whole reminiscent of a fairy garden. A place that seems not quite of this world, yet is rooted in nature.

The lilies are in full bloom and are maximized to create texture and depth. Each stem is carefully placed, allowing each flower to fully unfold. The result is a living landscape where nothing seems accidental.

What makes this creation extra special is the way the supporting materials are also used. Flowers and elements grow, as it were, from a mossy underground. Not the way you would normally use them, but precisely because of this they enhance the feeling of a hidden, magical place.

What typifies Anja's work is her vision of creation. She does not see it as a one-sided process, but as a dialogue with nature. When you really look and listen, forms and compositions arise naturally that you could not have imagined beforehand Lilies play a leading role in this. They bring not only color, but also structure and an almost tangible presence. And then there is their fragrance, which gives the work an extra dimension. It makes the end result not only visually strong, but also sensory rich.

With her contribution to the BFF of the Year 2025 contest, Anja shows how versatile lilies are. They challenge, surprise and constantly open up new creative directions. Exactly that makes them so valuable for florists who want to keep discovering.

Her work is an invitation to look differently. To let go of what is self-evident and give space to the unknown. Because that is precisely where the most extraordinary creations arise.