It was National Flower Arranging Day on 3rd May and to recognise the day, two of our committee members did arrangements for local businesses. Photographs below.

On Thursday 11th April eight BFAS members went to Broxbourne Civic Centre for the Area Members’ Day. The event was well attended which meant car parking problems for some, but once inside there were stalls to browse, raffle tickets to buy and coffee and biscuits aplenty. A buffet lunch was ready at twelve with a varied and tasty selection of sandwiches, nibbles, fruit and cakes. There was more than enough for everybody, but a table to eat at would have been very welcome.

At one o’clock the guest demonstrator Mr Barry Grey from Cheshire was introduced. Barry is an international demonstrator and one of Britain’s most celebrated floral designers. The inspiration for this demonstration was a poem he wrote entitled ‘Gently Flow Upon the Senses’

Much of the foliage for the first design came from the garden despite the late Spring and this was enhanced with bright orange roses grown at high altitude in the mountains of Equador.

The second design was mainly in shades of pink to capture the colours of the dawn sky; pink anthuriums and cymbidium orchids with curled aspidistra leaves.

A terracotta stone urn was the container for the third design. Garden foliage was the basis of a traditional arrangement using orange lilies, orange alstroemeria, pink carnations and yellow gerberas.

The fourth design was more modern and Barry used frames covered in gold metallic  wire and flower tubes to which he added vibrant green Anastasia chrysanthemums and ferns. This design was, Barry joked, for those who preferred ‘a bunch’ rather than a foam based flower arrangement.

Three placements of lemons and sunflowers in wooden fruit crates made up the fifth design, ‘Sweet and Sour’.

The sixth design was made up of sweet smelling flowers and foliage and included ‘antique look’ Columbian carnations and eucalyptus.

The final design, ‘Under the Sea’, was an arrangement of driftwood, white gypsophila, white orchids and white carnations. As he put the finishing touches to the design the hall echoed with John Denver singing ‘You Fill Up My Senses ‘(Annie’s Song).

Barry received a standing ovation from the audience and a heartfelt vote of thanks. Later, Barry told our Chairman that he is looking forward to coming to Bedford next year and promised a stage full of flowers!

On April 2nd we departed from our usual format of having a NAFAS demonstrator but instead 3 of our Club members each agreed to lead a mini workshop.  Lynn showed us how to make beautiful fragranced ‘flowers’ from slices of citrus fruits, Sandra did a variety of things using just a simple ‘Supermarket’ bunch of flowers and Ann created modern vertical arrangements again with a ‘supermarket’ bunch.  After a break for complimentary drinks and nibbles everyone was invited to have a go at making something using flowers provided by the club.  It was a lovely evening and a few photos are below….

Carole visited us on a cold March evening to present her demonstration called ‘From a Blank Canvas’.  Over the course of the evening Carole created 5 lovely arrangements using a variety of flowers and containers – some photos from the evening are below.

We had a really good turn out for our Christmas Demonstration from Barbara Collins aptly titled ‘Christmas is Coming’.  Barbara produced a variety of lovely Christmassy arrangements and explained in some detail how the look could be created or adapted at home.  At the end of the evening 8 lucky ladies who had bought raffle tickets were able to take one of Barbara’s beautiful designs home with them.  The rest of us will just have to follow her tips and have a go ourselves…..!  Some photos from the evening are below.

It’s been a busy few weeks with the Area Show, our November meeting and then our Christmas Workshop all following closely on the heels of each other.  It was a new venue for us at the Kempston West Methodist Church Hall on the High Street in Kempston and parking was a little tricky but we all managed and enjoyed watching our course leader Diane Northwood demonstrate her Christmas ideas.  Then it was our turn and the time just flew by.  Sandra organised a huge pizza for us from a local shop which provided us with a pleasant lunch break and then it was back to work to make a second design.  By the end of the afternoon there was a large number of lovely arrangements to be admired.  It was a lovely relaxed day and I think we all enjoyed it.  Thanks to Diane and also Ann g who made it happen.

Way back when we arranged  our November meeting, we booked Amanda Cameron from Corby.  By the time the date came round we got Amanda Punter from Corby.  Same lady – new name!  Amanda had recently married and told us about her wedding flowers as well as passing on helpful hints and tips.  Her theme for the evening was ‘Firework’ and she had put a lot of thought into ensuring the flowers that she used were relevant to the theme.  She quickly produced 6 lovely arrangements which 6 lucky ladies from our audience were able to take home with them.

From 26th to 28th October 2012, the Riding School at Hatfield House was transformed by beautiful flowers created by individuals and clubs from all over the Home Counties area.  The title of the show this year was ‘Equinox to Solstice’ and classes included  ‘Time to Celebrate’, ‘Gleaning and Gathering’ , ‘Fire & Ice’ and ‘Inspired by……’   I’m sure you will be able to work out which photos came from which class title!

Our Open Evening with National Demonstrator Tony Brown inspired us with his wonderful designs.  Although he had recently moved house and had only a developing garden, he used some lovely hostas and ferns and gave us easy-to-understand growing techniques.  Tony also showed us the principles of elements of design whilst entertaining us with his sense of humour.  All in all a delightful evening.

Vikki joined us last week to present her demonstration entitled “Tumble into Autumn”.  At the time it felt as if we hadn’t even had Summer, but after seeing her first couple of designs we soon realized that Autumn has a lot to offer!  Vikki produced 6 very neat and very different designs and 6 lucky ladies went home at the end of the evening each with one of her arrangements.  It was a lovely start to Autumn and a few photos from the evening are below: