The Society was delighted to welcome Julie Pearce, a NAFAS demonstrator from Worcester with her theme “Follow that Star”, based on the childrens’ book “The Star that Fell”.

Her first arrangement was based on a large wine-glass shaped container, a dish with oasis was used for long stemmed white antirrhinums, pink avalanche roses and a glorious orchid with a conical flower of pink, white and green.

Second:  A glass spaghetti jar filled with cones, coloured baubles was the base for a vertical design. Long stems of leucodendron, palm leaves and pinned around the front to add focus and shape, red bergenia leaves, stems of red cornus and skimmia with its red berries provided the base for the strong red gerberas; Atomic red and gold roses and red bloom carnations.

Next, a conical container, swathed in dark plum, sparkly gauze and supported in a wrought iron stand on short feet. Long trails of ivy; manipulated aspidistra leaves, tall phormium leaves; ferns, fatsias created the vertical scale to which were added pink lilies, skimmia rubra; pink lizianthus; cerise gerberas; dried pink hydrangea heads for a depth of colour, offset by stems of white antirrhinums.

The Star that Fell was based on a children’s story Julie read to her own children and was branches of Silver Birch fixed together and secured to a wooden base covered with cones and moss. A large woven wicker wreath was placed on top with a large dish to which was added arbutus foliage, mahonia, aspidistra leaves, bergenia leaves.

Julie then added stems of dark red amaryllis, leucodendron, magnolia grandiflora leaves and festive spruce.

The Christmas Star was a strongly shaped horizontal arrangement of fatsias, palms, ferns and manipulated aspidistra leaves as the base to which were added white bloom chrysanths; white avalanche roses and white canna lilies.

The Chairman Tineke Deuss invited Jean Morgan to give a vote of thanks.

The main Christmas demonstration will be given on Wednesday, 11th December at Bridges by National demonstrator Elizabeth Graham and promises to be a stunning afternoon. Doors open at 1.45 pm. All visitors and members welcome.