v THE HERALD - Your Community Magazine v 24th April 2025 • The HERALD • Page 57 RYAN FENCING Quality Fencing & Gates 07769 706516 • 023 8084 1203 www.ryan-fencing.co.uk • Find us on Facebook Smithwood Landscaping Professional Gardening & Landscaping • Seasonal Tidy Ups • Garden Redesign • Fencing • Trees & Shrubs Carefully Pruned • Astro Turf • Rockeries Designed • Ground Cover No Job Too Small as I am a Local Gardener Any advice over the phone is freely given Contact Gary (Master Landscaper) 07707 433194 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 • All types of trees expertly felled, topped & pruned • Stump Grinding • Hedges pruned & trimmed • Lawns Laid • Fencing & garden work • Rubbish Clearance • Patios & drives jet-washed • Patios & Drives resurfaced or replaced Registerd Waste Carrier Licence CBDU374716 H Fully Insured H Evening: 01794 522092 Daytime Mobile: 07511 863693 Email: treefellers@gmx.com Telephone Richard 023 8084 9637 | Grass Cutting | Edges Trimmed | Hedge Trimming | PRESSURE WASHING OF DECKS, PATIOS & DRIVES | FENCE & SHEDS PAINTED QuickSmart Garden Services Professional & Reliable DOWN THE GARDEN PATH Send your local news to The Editor, The Herald, 2 High Street, Hythe SO45 6AH Allison Finch started our demonstration “What a Sweetie” with a warning that it may cause detours on the way home to buy sweets and she couldn’t take responsibility for this! Allison gave us an inspirational and educational evening; she created 5 di erent sweetie themed arrangements, with extras for the ra e, alongside some interesting facts about the sweet manufacturing industry. Her rst arrangement was tropical, inspired by the “Bounty Bar”. A papier-mâché coconut, complete with shredded sisal around the top was her container. e arrangement consisted of phoenix palms and fatsia leaves, lling in with viburnum tinus; tiny, white Singapore orchids, white germini and white tulips. Chocolate brown lotus pods were interspersed as a nod to chocolate. A beautiful, elegant arrangement. Did you know that in 1920, Franklin Mars started his chocolate production in more than a 500 acres plot, in Slough? e largest in Europe. Allison’s next arrangement was “Cadbury ake”. e container was rectangular with an exterior of “ ake” created from parallel bundles of chocolate brown birch twigs. In 1854 Queen Victoria gave John Cadbury’s chocolate the Royal Warrant, consequently the purple wrappers were born, the queen’s favourite colour. is is now a recognised, speci c colour: Cadbury purple. e “ ake” was an accidental invention when there was a mistake in the manufacturing of another chocolate. Allison made a truly beautiful arrangement on top of the “ ake” in tones and tints of purple. Greenery was fatsia, woodland fern and rubus tricolour, which was layered horizontally. Flowers included vintage lilac roses, dusky purple orchids, aubergine hellebore seed heads, purple stocks, pussy willow and purple clematis to so en and raise the contour. Absolutely beautiful! Number three was based on Basset’s “Liquorice Allsorts”. First created in 1842, and were another mistake! e salesman dropped bags of di erent sweets and they scattered. e customer confessed that he would like a mixed bag and this became so popular that the salesman was rewarded with choosing the name. Allison had a black, rectangular wooden frame. She had recycled rounds and squares of dried out, used orist foam, covered them in masking tape and coloured them to look like the sweets. ey were suspended by using orange strimming cord. Very e ective. Interspersed were disguised orchid tubes which she used for mixed coloured tulips. A very e ective, cheerful design. e fourth arrangement was a foam ring with a hessian ribbon outer border. In the centre was a heart with “Be Mine” in it - signifying “Love Heart” sweets. Allison used senecio for greenery, dispersed at di erent angles (as were the owers) to give interest, this highlighted the beautiful shades of pale green and silver on the leaves. She used vintage pink roses - bloom and spray varieties - and white tulips. A scrummy design suitable for a table with a candle in the centre, or a wall or door. Love Hearts’ production began in 1954 by Swizzels Ltd. e design was based on Victorian “conversation lozenges” - early breath fresheners. ey are exported internationally and can be custom made, popular as wedding favours. e factory is known as “ e factory of love”: 122 workers have met there and got married! Allison’s nal arrangement was the “Crunchie” in all Our next meetings are: 1st May: no meeting - Cream Tea at Annie’s Tea Rooms. 5th June: Demonstration by Gill Homer “Inspired by Containers”. 3rd July: Presentation by Carole Norman “Keeper of Memories”. ere will no longer be a meeting during August, due to previous low numbers. is makes 10 meetings per year. For more information call Debbie orne on: 07769 830752. “WHAT A SWEETIE” from Debbie Thorne, Foresters Flower Club its splendour! A tall vase had a centre container and, between the vessels, lled with golden baubles - di erent sizes and textures. e arrangement on the top had horizontal and vertical elements and was based on colours of the bar and wrapper - shades of sumptuous yellows and oranges. Phormium leaves gave the shape, with fatsia leaves to so en. Small leafed garden foliage lled in. Flowers included sharp lemon Chrysanthemum blooms, pale lemon carnations, orange lilies, zesty orange roses and rusty orange alstroemerias. Craspedia globosa, with its yellow ball owers, represented the bubbles in the honeycomb! Following this magni cent demonstration, with rumbling tummies, we were served delicious refreshments by our wonderful Kitchen Fairies! Lots of very lucky ladies won these beautiful arrangements to adorn their homes! Allison Finch
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