Flowers Outstanding At C.W.I. Spring Show

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29010, 26 September 1959, Page 2

Flowers Outstanding At C.W.I. Spring Show

The flower arrangements at the Canterbury Federation of Country Women’s Institutes’ spring show, held yesterday in the exhibition hall of a city store, were outstanding. They eclipsed the pikelets, scones, jams, knitted cardigans and stuffed toys ranged round the walls, drawing continual admiration for their artistry and imagination.

It was not that the scones and embroidered tablecloths were inferior, but that they were either split in half to show their texture or were folded neatly up to conceal their beauty, whereas the flowers were displayed in their full brilliance.

There were tall, graceful upstanding vases of daffodils and iris; low white troughs filled to overflowing with warm red and pink camellias; rich bowls of peach blossom, deep red rhododendrons and grape hyacinth. There were miniature posies, Lilliputian midgets, scaled down in every detail; home-made sprays, as lovely as those bought in any florist’s shop; and arrangements in containers made of gourds and hollowed-out potatoes. No Sampling

Though the biscuits and cakes had been broken open for inspection, they had not been sampled. The judges must have exercised great self-control not to nibble at the sponges and fruit cakes on show. The proof of the pudding is said to be in the eating. Any judge would have been forgiven for invoking that rule in deciding between some of the cakes and jams on show.

There were a great many entries in the knitting section, especially for cardigans and babies’ booties. The evenness of the knitting was remarkable and the great variety of lacy patterns showed the knitters’ patience. The babies’ booties came in the palest pink, blue and white, trimmed with tiny embroidered flowers, woolly pom-poms or satin ribbon. The Mayoress (Mrs G. Manning) who opened the show, paid tribute to the thought, time and hard work which had been spent to make it such a success.

One of the joys of spring, said Mrs Manning, was its flowers, which brought delight to all who saw them. Prize winners were as follows: cut flowers. Mrs D. Westaway; decorative flowers. Mrs T. L. Dent; homecraft, Mrs M. Merry; home industries, Mrs E. McDowall. Mrs L. Beswick won the prize for the most outstanding piece of embroidery. The judges were Mesdames G. S. Webb and M. E. Lyons. Miss M. B. Moore and Mr D. M. Hill.