Floral fantasies aim to impress

ARTISTIC: Linda Barnett was busy yesterday finishing off her creation for the Floral Art Group's annual exhibition, which opens tomorrow. Photo / Christine McKay

If members of Dannevirke's Floral Art Group have anything to do with the annual Spring Festival, it will be a blooming success.

Members have been busy creating their designs for the fantasy-themed exhibition, which opens tomorrow at 9.30am at the Rawhiti Lodge on High St.

Linda Barnett has been working on a Lord of the Rings design for the exhibition, using tree branches, roots and rings from wine barrels.

"I love Ed Sheeran's I See Fire from the movie and my design will feature flowers and foliage in red and orange," she said. Linda likes to use materials from her country garden but the late flowering season has made this difficult.

"I've had to buy in lilies, but I'll use other material from my garden."

Designing with flowers is an art form, said Linda, it is not just flower arranging and coming up with designs takes time.

"It's about thinking of what you can do with what's around, but the most important part is gathering your mechanics because without good mechanics and staging, no matter what you do you won't get a good design. All the time I'm thinking ... my design through."

Members of the group have been putting together their own version of the fantasy theme, with Frozen, Jack in the Beanstalk and Alice through the Looking Glass among the designs.

"Along with our free-standing big designs, there will be decorated shoes, including Cinderella's glass slipper and Mr McGregor's boots, and plenty of others, with the Rawhiti Lodge Hall full of glorious blooms, foliage and creative designs," Linda said.

-Floral Art Group exhibition, open Saturday and Sunday 9.30am-4pm.