A wonderful first demonstration of the year when we were delighted to welcome Emma Remington back to Bedford.  Her presentation ‘Tricks of the Trade’  certainly lived up to its name as she  provided us with interesting and knowledgeable tips and hints throughout her entertaining commentary.   Beautiful colours in beautiful  creative arrangements  which  included  a very varied  selection  of flowers and foliage. The stage looked stunning  at the end of the evening. Raffle winners were delighted with their arrangements  and we were so pleased a couple of visitors won a prize! Thank you Emma for  a great evening and for allowing us to publish photographs.

We had a lovely festive evening at our December meeting when Lynne Sharpe visited us to present ‘Christmas Car Boot Collection’.  Beautiful arrangements  all accessorised with items Lynne had collected from car boots – the stage looked spectacular at the end  of the evening. To tie in with the demonstration, we had a Car Boot sales table of donated bric-a-brac to raise funds for the charity we are supporting this year – The Primrose Car Scheme. Mince pies and non-alcoholic mulled wine added to the evening. A few photos are below…

We were delighted to welcome Jacky West to Bedford for the first time especially as circumstances earlier in the year had postponed her visit.

 Her demonstration was entitled ‘Language of Flowers’.  Floriography is a coded method of communication  where different flowers, colours and arrangements have specific meanings and was  very popular in the Victorian  era to express emotions and send secret messages.   Jacky produced five lovely  and very different designs; the colour combinations within her  all her arrangements were beautiful and emotions/messages  represented included celebrations, welcome, admiration and appreciation. Thank you Jacky for a lovely evening and allowing us to share pictures.

We also celebrated 65 years of Bedford Flower Arranging Society / Bedford Floral Art Society  with a celebration cake   – there were 200 members in the first year and the annual subscription was £1.1s! Times and costs have certainly changed but we look forward to the Society continuing to move forward.

What a great evening of entertainment and floral expertise from Lorena Dyer as she presented ‘Lipstick, Powder and Paint’ at  our Open Meeting this month . The stage looked stunning at the end of the evening, filled with beautiful but  very different designs ( all associated in some way with the title)  using a wide variety of flowers , foliage,  containers and accessories.  Throughout the presentation, there were lots of tips, interesting stories and facts about lipstick, powder and paint and lots of humour! Thank you Lorena  – and for allowing us to use a couple of pictures.

It is always a pleasure to welcome Barbara Collins  and we thank her for coming at short notice when our planned demonstrator was indisposed. We also welcomed Anne McPherson, the chair of Home Counties Area to Bedford for the first time.

 Barbara started our Autumn programme with her ‘Oriental Moments’ demonstration – she promised us a calm and tranquil ( Japanese traits)  presentation   using flowers with a muted colour palette.

All arrangements were beautiful  using  many different flowers  – all lovely but especially the different coloured  orchids.  We were also introduced to green trick dianthus. The designs included  a spiral, a crescent and a handtie – all  six arrangements including  a multitude of different foliages mainly from Barbara’s garden. As usual, throughout Barbara’s  interesting commentary we were given many helpful tips and hints. There were lots of raffle prizes so many members went home very happy.  

With Oriental accessories enhancing the display the stage looked wonderful at the end of the evening.

Thank you Barbara for a great evening and for allowing us to share pictures of your designs. We look forward to your next visit.

Sadly Jacky West had to postpone her visit to Bedford this month but  we look forward to welcoming her later in the year.  A quick ‘practical’ evening was arranged when everyone was provided with five or seven flowers and a dish.  There was a ‘pool’ of foliage from which to choose and we were asked to produce an arrangement with a midsummer theme. It was an extremely hot evening so a refreshment break   half way through was very welcome. Then, members of BFAS have never been so quiet as they concentrated and attempted to plait phormium leaves! A few photos below reflect the evening . A big thank you to everyone who contributed in any way to quickly organise the evening and to members for their commitment and enthusiasm.

We were delighted to welcome Louisa back to Bedford this month.   Louisa used a wide variety of flowers and foliage with  beautiful colour combinations  to create six lovely designs in  very different and interesting containers. The six arrangements  produced ten raffle prizes so there were many happy members who went home delighted with,  to quote a winner ,  ‘  a very manageable’  beautiful arrangement. 

 Louisa’s  expertise as a National Teacher was evident as she included  lots of tips throughout the demonstration. She also told us of the origins, history, legends and meanings of  many  of the flowers – do you know the significance of the number of red roses included in a bouquet and the age of the oldest  growing rose?

Thank you Louisa for an enjoyable evening and  for allowing us to use pictures of your designs.

Our  May ‘ In house’ evening   continued our usual celebrations of national events. This year members were asked to produce a parallel design which, in some way, linked to  the 80^th anniversary of VE Day .  At the end of the evening the stage looked wonderful with beautiful designs. They were all very different, showcasing the talent we have amongst our members – the pictures below give just an example of what was produced.

After the practical session we enjoyed a bring and share supper kindly provided by  members and  we attempted to complete quizzes and other puzzles!  Importantly we  also had more time than usual to chat and socialise with other members. ‘ A lovely relaxed evening – thank you’ was a comment from one member as she left.

Thanks go to everyone who helped with the organisation of a very successful evening but most of all to all  members for their enthusiasm and creativity.

 There was a great variety of   foliage  ( all foraged or dried and some manipulated ) included in Linda Seabrook’s ‘Green Finger Flower Arranger’ demonstration. Supplemented by  flowers in lovely colour combinations, designs  included  arrangements  which  were either in or representing a wheelbarrow, a watering can, a window box and a bird bath. Linda also gave us lots of tips relevant to both flower arranging and gardening – thank you for an enjoyable evening.

It is always a great pleasure to welcome Gill McGregor to Bedford. It had been a beautiful Spring day and that   happy atmosphere continued into the evening when  Gill presented ‘Sensationally Spring’; culminating in a stage full of wonderful designs using Spring colours. As usual,  Gill amazed us with her leaf manipulation which she used both as mechanics and to enhance her arrangements. Together with numerous tips and interesting stories it was a great start to our 2025 floral year- thank you. The pictures give just a flavour of her demonstration.