Colour, texture, skills and friends

“STOP,” Anita Hinton has often said, travelling along the road. “Pull the car over.”

She loves to create something new and beautiful out of quirky or more traditional plants, and wherever she goes, whether within Ballarat, around Australia or simply in her home garden, she finds materials for her work.

As President of the Ballarat Floral Art Group, now in its fourth decade, she’s dedicated to working with flowers for fun, having developed a passion for gardening from her father.

The personalities and process of composing organic artworks keep her engaged in the imaginative, creative community.

“There’s lots of fellowship and friendships through the ladies that come, and we’ve met some wonderful floral artists who have done demonstrations and workshops for us, so we’re learning new skills all the time,” she said.

“It’s about getting the colours and textures together and learning different ways of keeping the flowers fresher, how to present things in colour tones and positioning of groups of flowers.

“We all learn from each other’s different ideas.”

Always with projects on the go, Mrs Hinton’s club creates displays for Begonia Festival, they made table arrangements for this year’s Begonia Ball, always put together an arrangement for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show and do demonstrations for Probus and community groups.

“You’re meeting new people and it’s a chance to share knowledge with others,” Mrs Hinton said.

The Ballarat Floral Art Group’s latest endeavour is A Tapestry of Flower at the Botanical Gardens’ Robert Clark Centre on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 October.

The artists will showcase a diverse range of modern and traditional pieces, utilising exotic to native plants, creating a classic garden arch, and even a floral shop window display.

Supporting the EW Tipping Foundation’s residential services, now known as Aruma, admission to the display is $10 and includes a Devonshire tea.

At 2pm on both days, a well-known mix of international florists will present demonstrations. There’ll be plants for sale, a trading table and a raffle.

Ballarat Floral Art Group meets on the third Tuesday of every month at the Robert Clark Centre. For more information, contact Anita Hinton on 0431 063 347.