IT really was a case of “Now for Something Completely Different!” for Crediton Flower Club members at their September meeting.

They enjoyed an “Imposed Demonstration” by Fiona Hammond from Bodmin, an Area Demonstrator who loves competitive work and won “Best in Show” at a recent area show, achieved a first place at National level and with the area team of the day won Gold at Chelsea in 1991.

Normally a demonstrator comes with her own chosen theme, flowers, foliage and containers, but on this occasion they were all provided for her by the club and she had no idea whatsoever what was in store for her.

Amazingly she managed to work “miracles”, taking delight in this imposed style and produced an absolutely fantastic assortment of designs.

Fiona, herself a member of Liskeard Flower Club, chose first to use a large blue glass dish and created a delightful “meadow” arrangement with Choisya and variegated euonymus forming a base for upright stems of delicate blue delphiniums, white lizianthus, purple michaelmas daisies and white freesia.

Her next selection was the use of a large salt glaze earthenware pot which she had “dressed” with purple sisal to add interest and with the use of tall “Jester” phormium leaves, dart green elaeagnus and hosta leaves she chose beautiful soft pink Asiatic lilies to complete the design with complimentary pink and white lizianthus.

A suggestion for a table decoration came next when Fiona used a large copper trough with clever placement of two long bamboo pieces to start, then stunningly co-ordinated colours of oranges and reds in gerberas, roses, alstroemeria, red peppers and finally a trail of rosehips across the top - a beautiful suggestion of Autumn.

There seemed to be no end to her innovative ideas - a large basket “vase” was selected, into which she placed bamboo and dogwood uprights forming support for “woven” shapes she had made earlier.

A harvest design took shape using fatsia, hosta leaves, sunflowers, grasses and lovely branches of crab apples.

For her finale, Fiona used a traditional trug for the basis of an asymmetrical design with golden privet forming a backdrop for stunning red alstroemeria, golden roses, acid yellow and cerise dahlias and stunning dart red roses.

Green and yellow peppers and crab apples again provided the finishing touch. She had created a second placement in a basket earlier and, when arranged on a hessian drape, the two made a magnificent display.

Club secretary, June Harry, thanked Fiona for what she described as a truly “miraculous” demonstration of her skills in producing such wonderful arrangements with no prior knowledge before she arrived of the plant material, flowers or containers she would be provided with.

Thanks were also extended to those members who had helped collect together the necessary “components” for the evening and also those who had generously given from their gardens.

It was certainly an evening that will long be remembered.

The club holds its Annual General Meeting on Thursday, October 11 at the Boniface Centre, at 7.15pm. All welcome.

GM