Fifty-two members and visitors attended the September Lakes Entrance Garden Club meeting on a cool spring day.
Guest speaker was Glenda MacKay, who gave members a demonstration of basket weaving/coiling. She uses willow branches and roots, jute, raffia, even tea bags – but really you can use anything that you can bend.
The main material is stitched with cord or linen thread to build up the spiral. Flat baskets can be made, which is a good way to learn. Then you can try more complicated ones or even trays or bags. Glenda had some books on basketry and suggested these could be helpful.
Everyone had a chance to have a try as Glenda provided members with raffia and thread.
The group was the largest Glenda had demonstrated for and club members agreed it was a lot of fun and great to try something new.
Stepping out of her usual show steward position, Susie Swann was the judge for the September show bench and she did a great job.
The special sections this month were very colourful.
The bowl of floating flowers section had five lovely entries with Joy Davenport placing first. Her entry in an oval glass bowl had unusual hellebore, primula and the centrepiece was a double daffodil. Second was Shirley Bardwell’s entry of many different colours of pansy, tastefully arranged in a scooped glass fishbowl.
The azalea section was glowing with reds and pinks. First was Ann Barker with a dark red frilly entry in a complementary black vase and second was June Gudgin with a tall cut in cerise red.
A fun section is the arrangement in a boot or shoe and first was the entry from Shirley Bardwell in a comfy looking gardening shoe, all in purples and pinks. Second was Truus Adams with yellows and reds in a lovely Dutch clog.
A real wow section was the basket of mixed spring flowers – six entries all packed with colour and showed the joy of spring. First was Ann Barker’s basket in pinks and whites – amazing pink orchids and scented beautiful boronia. Second
was Gwen Christopher with every colour of the rainbow from many different types of flowers and the centrepiece a bright yellow tulip.
In the one cut shrub section, first was a stunning white waratah from Janice Kelly and second was a moody dark purple isopogon from Shirley Bardwell.
Only vegetables above ground this month saw first place, a red lettuce, come from Dearne Albert, with equal seconds to Faye Rowe with a butter lettuce and Sheryl MacCubbin with button mushrooms.
It was a lovely show bench.
The recent bus trip to the Yarra Valley went well with great weather for the trip. After visiting all the gardens and nurseries the bus was full of plants, as was the trailer.
Don’t forget the flower display is on Melbourne Cup weekend, Saturday and Sunday, November 2 and 3.
The next Lakes Entrance Garden Club meeting is Monday, October 21, 1.30pm at the Lakes Entrance Mechanics Hall. Visitors are always welcome.
