In August Mrs Gill Purkiss came to talk to us about Flower Arrangements – always a popular pastime for our members. Special thanks must go to Phyllis Cherriman who chaired the meeting as well as overseeing the catering.
Not only did Gill Purkiss produce some wonderful displays but she also gave several helpful tips – one being how to revive roses – did you know that you can put them in ½ inch of boiling water and then into cold water, it works a treat.
All of Gill’s flowers were ‘Fair Trading’ which can be bought in a mixed bunch from M & S at a very reasonable price and in all her demonstrations she used just a few flowers plus foliage. She produced at least a dozen displays, each one using just 1, 2 or 3 flowers. Her first arrangement was a brilliant example of this technique using just a terracotta pot, a few twigs, some lime green sisal and 4 roses, simple but very effective.
All of her arrangements followed this simple theme and showed that you do not need to have a lot of flowers or spend a lot of money to create a spectacular display. She used a single hydrangea head, grass and beads or a basket with roses and oregano, white chrysanths or peach roses and a cork base and a lot of basic foliage to create stunning arrangements which we could all ‘try’ to copy!
At the end of the talk these arrangements were raffled amongst the members with one being given to Brenda Petrie as a thank you for running the kitchen on her own for this meeting.
In September our Speaker is Mrs K Minchin – ‘Without The Veil in Saudi Arabia’ which should be a fascinating talk. Come along on Sept 2nd and see what Grayshott Arthritis Care has to offer or call 01428 605002 for more information
