Mystery plants bloom into marriage proposal
Maddy Savage - [email protected]
Published: 14 Jul, 2015 CET.
Updated: Tue 14 Jul 2015 10:46 CET
A flower bed in southern Sweden has blossomed into the words "marry me", after a Dane grew 90 plants there to spell out his love. The Local spoke to Kenneth Neergaard, 30, after his future wife said "ja".
The unusual flower arrangement in Malmö park Slottsparken had already caused a stir, with Swedish tabloid Expressen speculating that the plants could be an art installation, a student joke or even an advertising campaign.
But their role became clear this week when they reached their optimum size and the man behind the plot took his girlfriend to the park and got down on one knee.
"She had a tear in her eye and then she was speechless for a bit," Kenneth Neergaard, 30, told The Local on Tuesday, as news of his proposal went viral.
"Then luckily she said yes pretty quickly," he added.
The Dane runs a business connecting companies with students looking for part-time jobs in Copenhagen but lives in southern Sweden with his future wife Sonja Ragab, 25, and their 10-month-old daughter.
He planted the flowers a month ago with the help of his sister, a task that took them almost six hours.
"I did it in English so it was shorter," said Neergaard with a chuckle.
"Otherwise I would have needed about 200 plants!"
To spell out his message in Danish he would have needed to write "Vil du gifte dig med mig?" or in Swedish,"Vill du gifta dig med mig?".
The couple and their daughter. Photo: Private
READ ALSO: Seven totally Swedish wedding traditions
Neergaard said he was "well aware" that his project had been a gamble, but conceded that he had been willing to risk the flowers being stolen or not growing properly in order to do something special for his partner, despite claiming he has little experience of making romanic gestures.
He took his girlfriend to Slottsparken by boat, after sailing across the water between Copenhagen and Malmö.
"I was a bit shakey and nervous beforehand," he explained.
"But she said yes and it will be a funny story to tell our daughter when she gets a bit older," he added.
The entrepreneur also admitted that he had not asked permission from Malmö city council to plant the display.
"No, that I did not do, but no one has complained or said anything yet! Although I guess they do know who I am now."
Neergaard's love story is already an unusual one. He started dating his fiancee Sonja Ragab after she approached him on Facebook four years ago.
"I came up in that 'people you might know' section," he explained.
"We do have a few friends in common but we weren't introduced or anything like that."
Ragab, who has Egyptian and Czech roots, is a beautician by trade and is currently on maternity leave looking after the couple's child.
"We haven't decided yet when the wedding's gonna be. It might involve spending some time on the canal or have a theme involving flowers, that's what I have been thinking," said Neergaard.
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The unusual flower arrangement in Malmö park Slottsparken had already caused a stir, with Swedish tabloid Expressen speculating that the plants could be an art installation, a student joke or even an advertising campaign.
But their role became clear this week when they reached their optimum size and the man behind the plot took his girlfriend to the park and got down on one knee.
"She had a tear in her eye and then she was speechless for a bit," Kenneth Neergaard, 30, told The Local on Tuesday, as news of his proposal went viral.
"Then luckily she said yes pretty quickly," he added.
The Dane runs a business connecting companies with students looking for part-time jobs in Copenhagen but lives in southern Sweden with his future wife Sonja Ragab, 25, and their 10-month-old daughter.
He planted the flowers a month ago with the help of his sister, a task that took them almost six hours.
"I did it in English so it was shorter," said Neergaard with a chuckle.
"Otherwise I would have needed about 200 plants!"
To spell out his message in Danish he would have needed to write "Vil du gifte dig med mig?" or in Swedish,"Vill du gifta dig med mig?".
The couple and their daughter. Photo: Private
READ ALSO: Seven totally Swedish wedding traditions
Neergaard said he was "well aware" that his project had been a gamble, but conceded that he had been willing to risk the flowers being stolen or not growing properly in order to do something special for his partner, despite claiming he has little experience of making romanic gestures.
He took his girlfriend to Slottsparken by boat, after sailing across the water between Copenhagen and Malmö.
"I was a bit shakey and nervous beforehand," he explained.
"But she said yes and it will be a funny story to tell our daughter when she gets a bit older," he added.
The entrepreneur also admitted that he had not asked permission from Malmö city council to plant the display.
"No, that I did not do, but no one has complained or said anything yet! Although I guess they do know who I am now."
Neergaard's love story is already an unusual one. He started dating his fiancee Sonja Ragab after she approached him on Facebook four years ago.
"I came up in that 'people you might know' section," he explained.
"We do have a few friends in common but we weren't introduced or anything like that."
Ragab, who has Egyptian and Czech roots, is a beautician by trade and is currently on maternity leave looking after the couple's child.
"We haven't decided yet when the wedding's gonna be. It might involve spending some time on the canal or have a theme involving flowers, that's what I have been thinking," said Neergaard.
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