Hundreds flock to Felpham's gardens

The village's festival weekend attracted some 400 people who took the chance to look around 26 gardens.

The success of the event means some 5,000 is likely to have been raised to at least equal last year's sum.

The latest proceeds are being split between St Mary's Church, Middleton Medical Centre and Flansham Park Health Centre.

Plenty of sunshine enabled the garden visitors to enjoy the opportunity to see the various planting arrangements in flower combinations.

The gardens opened for viewing ranged from that of a typical semi-detached property to a country garden. Locations stretched from the seafront to a mile or so inland.

Derek Yeates, the weekend's overall organiser, said: "It was a lovely weekend. The weather was kind to us and everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves. There is a really nice atmosphere in the town on these weekends."

Visitors also poured into the indoor attraction of the weekend to look around the St Mary's Church flower festival.

They were met by a rotary clothes dryer, complete with a recycling slogan t-shirt, outside the church. Further thought-provoking displays filled the interior. The colours and floral specimens might have been the same as many other flower festivals.

But seldom can they have been used to put across such as powerful message.

Flower festival organiser Chris Allen said: "The concept is reuse, recycle and reduce. All the exhibitors have done extremely well creating their displays along that theme.

I am extremely pleased. It is an absolutely fantastic display."

The mood of the weekend was captured by the 24 pew ends which lit up the central aisle.

Among the leading singers was Jennie Wilton, who is about to study at the Guildhall School of Music, Nicole Embleton and David Fido.

Made by Year 2 pupils, aged around six, from Bishop Tufnell CoE Infant School from plastic bags they 'sprouted' from reusable shopping bags which quickly sold out.

A further 23 arrangements were on show to capture the eyes and engage the brains of visitors.

They were made by Felpham Flower Club, Felpham and Middleton Horticultural Society, Joan Hope, Sheila Yates, Daphne Heard and Sheena Hoad among others.

Flowers such as delphiniums, sunflowers, lilies and gladioli in colours like red, white, yellow and orange portrayed messages such as recycling plastics and glass and using water carefully.

Solar power, wind power and even recycling blood and organs through donations were some of the other themes on show.

Reusable nappies and plastic bottles were among the more unusual exhibits.

The three-day festival also included a concert in St Mary's Church.

Some 150 people filled the church for the composition, The Whale Ocean, by organist and choirmaster James Rushman.

Its message about the pollution of the seas centred around the plight of a female whale whose calf dies in the increasingly dirty waters.

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