Brockenhurst Shone Brightly
To all our wonderful Members and Guests thank you for making our National Demonstration so amazing. It was an incredible afternoon.
We were delighted to welcome Lucy Ellis this November who brought us her beautiful and inspiring arrangements, full of delightful colour, grand designs with a huge but delicate Christmas wow factor! Lucy is a multiple RHS gold medal winner and, besides making it all look so easy, entertained us with designs based on Christmas carols and many humorous stories. Great fun!
Design1. Bio foam was anchored to the top of a tall distressed white urn. A white sparkly Christmas tree shape was positioned at the rear, made from artists foam board and an ‘L’ shape design was formed. Trimmed to a fan shaped palm & lightly sprayed fatsia leaves encircled the foam with other greening up using marble white laurel, pittosporum, conifer, Choisya ‘White Dazzler’ fatsia flower heads & silvery grey senecio. Tall white birch sticks formed a light cage around an exquisitely tall spray of blush white/pink cymbidium Orchid. Large single heads of white Chrysanthemum ‘Magnum’ were placed low down drawing the eye to the middle while white spray Chrysanthemum ‘Newton’ were scattered above. Silver backed elaeagnus extended to the side followed by blush white/pink anthuriums. Breathtaking!
Design 2. This design featured a silver moon as a backdrop with shiny sprayed palm leaves set into oasis in a draping horizontal form. Greening up included, some lightly sprayed pussy willow, silver painted asparagus fern & variegated pittosporum. Following the horizontal line white stocks were set to one side with white long-stemmed gerbera displayed opposite. Large white Avalanche roses were grouped low down centrally. Adding a light delicacy, the herbaceous Clematis ‘Blue Pirouette’ displayed its nodding blue heads, and the final touch of silver & blue sparkly baubles completed the arrangement.
Design 3. A wintery woodland scene used oasis set onto the frame of a wooden sleigh with crisscross branches & fir cones in the base. Pine and blue spruce filled out the oasis and further greenery of Japanese fern, scented Christmas box & conifer added volume. Nestled amongst the greenery large gold sprayed cones and lightly sprayed small cabbage heads were set against striking red/gold Chrysanthemum ‘Hugo’ with tall bunches of gold/orange ilex berries scattered throughout. Beautiful colourways.
Design 4. A russet & burgundy hand tie set into burnished copper bowls with a collar nest of shredded wooden shavings. Each hand tie was made up in 3 parts, a great technique that enables holding & constructing larger hand ties easier. The arrangements included the following spiralled closely together – blue phlebodium fern, Autumn coloured Cotinus ‘Grace’, russet hydrangea leaves, strelitzia leaves, orange lilies, small spray tawny orange chrysanthemums, white cloudy grass plumes, red/gold chrysanthemums, yellow/cerise Marie Claire roses, spray lengths of grevillea and dracaena leaves. The burnished copper & tawny colours were beautiful.
Design 5. Set into a gold urn topped with oasis this globe shaped design was bold & striking. Green foliage of trimmed palm, curled aspidistra leaves, gold sprayed Aucuba japonica – berry headed holly & Mini cabbage heads with scattered purple pittosporum set off the dramatic pink & claret blooms. Displayed flowers included abelia, tall red ilex berries, pink spray chrysanthemums, fluffy pink astilbe and scented Naomi red Roses. Striking pink/red Anthurium ‘Candy’ added drama with the final touch spidery edged pink Gerbera ‘Emma’ created an asymmetrical flow to one side.