Visit to Chatsworth 10th May 2014

The weather was iffy, but the company was good and it was generally agreed to be a lovely day out.

With limited time we made straight for the House on our arrival. There were many beautiful and inspiring  floral arrangements in the rooms and corridors with both traditional and contemporary designs on display; plenty of wonderful photo opportunities.

After a quick bite to eat it was time to queue for the demonstration. It was good to swap notes with members from other flower clubs as we waited.

Jonathan’s demonstration was first class.  An innovative and talented designer, Jonathan kept our attention for the whole 75 minutes and his passion for his work was obvious. He worked quickly, deftly and with precision, yet was able still to talk eloquently about Chatsworth’s history, the preparations for Florabundance, the gardens, his designs, the plants he used and give us  a few tips too.   The end result was super -the stage looked stunning at the end of the presentation.

There were six arrangements for raffle prizes and two of them were won by people from our party! Off stage the arrangements looked wonderful of course, but BIG.  We had the benefit of a 49 seater coach  so the arrangements could have a seat each ( there were only 23 of us), but  we had to remove some of the taller stems  in order to get them home safely.  See picture below.

We managed by the skin of our teeth to get enough support to make this outing possible so  thank you very, very  much to all those members and friends who came.

 

 

 

 

Members Evening May 2014

It was a very different meeting this month entitled ‘Fun, Friendship and Flowers’. The aim was to  encourage as many members as possible to take part.

Almost fifty members participated in a ‘hands on’ practical session. The completed arrangements were so varied that it was difficult to realise that everyone had been provided with the same container, midelino sticks, five flowers and some broad leaf foliage. These were supplemented with up to three items of the members’ own choice – twisted willow, extra foliage or flowers, aluminium wire, sisal and butterflies to name a few! The colourful and attractive designs on the stage at the end of the evening really showcased the expertise and talent within the club.

There was also the opportunity to watch demonstrations by members Sheila and Hazel. They produced a pedestal arrangement and church windowsill design using a wide variety of flowers and  foliage (mostly from their own gardens) as well as providing lots of practical tips along the way.

There was also social time to enjoy refreshments and a chat and the committee are grateful for the effort taken to complete a questionnaire; the results of which will inform us as we plan for the development and future of the society.

Thank you to everyone who showed enthusiasm during the evening and to those who worked hard   to organise the event.

A few photos below  give a flavour of the evening.