v BRINGING THE GOOD NEWS TO YOU SINCE 1994 v 3rd October 2024 • The HERALD • Page 63 A J GLEESON BUILDING & GROUNDWORK DRIVEWAYS EXTENSIONS BRICKWORK GROUNDWORK BLOCK PAVING Colours & Designs to suit your requirements Local Work Available to View CALL FOR A FREE QUOTATION New Forest & Southampton 023 8084 4180 Mobile: 07770 771475 Bramdene, Main Road, Dibden, Southampton ✿ DOWN THE GARDEN PATH ✿ RYAN FENCING Quality Fencing & Gates 07769 706516 • 023 8084 1203 www.ryan-fencing.co.uk • Find us on Facebook COVERING SOUTHAMPTON AND NEW FOREST • Patios • Turf • Fencing • Artificial lawns • Decking • Garden structures • Driveways • Clearances • Brickwork • Jet-washing Call now on 07961 234448 to sow the seeds for your new outside living space or email: honeysucklelandscapes1@gmail.com See our previous work at: www.honeysucklelandscapes.com Send your local news to The Editor, The Herald, 2 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH We Are Off To The Dolomites! by Debbie Thorne, Foresters Flower Club It is said that owers and gardens are good for our wellbeing and can help ease stress and by using our imagination we can be transported to warmer climes! Oh did members of Foresters Flower Club need that as over 30 members arrived at Copythorne Parish Hall on a damp, wet and miserable September evening! It worked! We joined our demonstrator, Mel Smith, as she travelled from England by car to the Dolomites, a beautiful, mountainous part of Northern Italy. e holiday started badly with pouring rain, driving in a sports car, luggage on the back, towels ready to mop up excess water inside the car! Mel’s rst design was a horizontal design in a wicker basket, beautiful, delicate delphiniums complemented by orange gerbera and almost coffee coloured chrysanthemums. ey travelled high into the Dolomites and the breathtaking scenery inspired Mel to construct an open framework of beech twigs and plant material for a white and green hand tied bouquet including antirrhinums, roses and plant material of varying textures and shapes. No gardener or ower arranger can go anywhere without at least one Garden visit and Mel’s third design, based on a botanical garden, featured a homemade ‘fairy chair’ full of exotic foliage and owers – de nitely magical! ey embarked on a day trip to Lake Como with its wonderful villas, pretty villages and bright lush colours, interpreted in an urn design, incorporating a ring of textured and brightly coloured wools with owers in tones and tints of pink – reminiscent of the window boxes and tubs that are everywhere around the Lake. eir last stop was the Ferrari museum with its iconic prancing horse logo which Mel interpreted with manipulated foliage, yellow ower (the original colour for this supercar). is visit had sent Mel into ‘overdrive’ as her design was a homemade stand – consisting of car parts!! Accompanying the designs were hand tied bunches in jam jars with ethical recycled paper to nish them. Mel fully embraces the ethical ‘no foam’ route which has thrown many challenges and a new way of arranging, but she was free with her advice and the knowledge she had learnt – it was both a wonderful trip to the Dolomites and gave everyone there much food for thought for future ower arranging. Next meetings: 3rd October: In House Bring & Do Autumn designs. 7th November: Tales of Downton Abbey a presentation by Bronda Dossett. 5th December: CHRISTMAS! Demonstration by Lucinda Knapman. All meetings at Copythorne Parish Hall, Pollards Moor Road, SO40 2NZ. 7.30pm. Everyone is welcome! For more information call Debbie orne: 07769 830752. Totton & District Gardeners Society’s next meeting will be on Wednesday 9th October for a talk titled ‘Ferns & Grasses’ by Chris Bird. e meeting is held in the ree Score Club Hall, o Salisbury Road, Totton at 7.30pm. ey welcome visitors and new members. For more information contact them via their new website: tottongardeners.weebly.com or email: totton. gardeners@btinternet.com Ferns & Grasses
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