Our November Meeting

3 November 2022

'Gardens by the Bay' by Theresa Rodrigues

​We were delighted to welcome back Theresa Rodrigues for our November meeting with her intriguing title ‘Gardens by the Bay’.   We were to imagine a 12-hour flight to a tropical island, hot temperatures and driving to an iconic hotel that featured in the BBC Two programme ‘Amazing Hotels’.   Singapore was our destination which brought back very fond memories for me as I had stayed at the hotel in 2014.

Theresa’s first arrangement was inspired by the hotel which is located along the Marina Bay waterfront and features three cascading towers topped by an extraordinary Sky Park, resembling a surfboard, complete with infinity pool! To depict this Theresa chose a horizontal design which was raised on top of a tall stand and into prearranged foliage she placed Irises, white Avalanche Roses and Coral sprayed silver to resemble the sky and water.

From the Sky Park you can get an excellent view of the ‘Gardens by the Bay’ which brings to life Singapore’s vision of creating a City in a garden. The three distinctive waterfront gardens span 101 acres and were designed with the underlying principle of sustainability. Theresa’s following four arrangements each focused on a particular garden. Inspired by the architecture of the Esplanade Theatres in the East Garden and a conscious effort to reduce the use of floral foam, Theresa had produced a 3D structure using bamboo and sticks. Into this she interwove flowers as if she were producing a hand tied bunch.







One of the key highlights of the ‘Gardens by the Bay’ is the grove of soaring, surreal structures known as Supertrees. These sustainable vertical gardens span 25 to 50 metres in height and house over 162,900 plants of over 200 species. Many of these trees have photovoltaic cells in their canopies to harvest solar energy.  This was to be the inspiration for Theresa’s final design. Known for her creativity she produced her own version of a Supertree, a tree trunk covered with moss into which she had incorporated succulent plants.  She then produced an all-round arrangement on the top followed by lights twisted around the trunk.
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​The six arrangements were very individual with excellent & varied choice of flowers and foliage, including Calla Lilies, Cymbidium Orchids, Strelitzia’s, Protea Pincushion, Cock’s Comb, Ginger, Gerbera & Roses.

A very interesting demonstration ending with a beautiful display of arrangements. 

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Note for your diary:     Our Annual General Meeting will be held in Clophill Village Hall Committee Room
at 7.30pm on 5 January 2023.   All are welcome.