PINNER FLOWER LOVERS' SOCIETY

Some 50 years ago a group of ten flower arrangers got together and decided to set up a club to cater for their hobby. They each contributed £1 and so as not to tie themselves to any particular area, they called the club The Flower Lovers’ Society.

The inaugural meeting was held at West House in Pinner and was marked by a flower arranging demonstration by Joan Golland, our Founder President.

The stay at West House was short-lived, for after only three months the number of members had grown so much that larger premises were needed. The club moved to ‘The Whittington’ pub (now The Pinner Arms), where we remained for some years and continued to grow.

At the end of the first year Joan Golland stood down and was replaced by Olive Garrett, to whom we owe so much. It had been her idea to form a club and it became her life as well as her hobby. She might accurately be described as the ‘Mother of the Society’.  

Joan took on the role of President of the Society and held the unique position of Life President, until later on when it was decided to make her the Founder President and have a Club Member be honoured as President, a position to be held for a three year term.

At that time there were many flower clubs in the area, taking up almost every evening in one location or another. Our first competitive show was held at St.Andrews Church in Eastcote (now an Asian worship centre) where hats and gloves were very much the order of the day for Judges and Club officials. 

We were going from strength to strength and eventually outgrowing The Whittington, we moved to St. Mary’s Grammar School in Northwood Hills. This proved somewhat inaccessible though, and in 1979 we took up residence in the Methodist Church Hall at Cannon Lane in Pinner, where we remain to this day.

This latest venue has proved ideal for us and, through local leafleting, we increased our membership even more. It was realised that Pinner was really the centre of activity and we changed our name to Pinner Flower Lovers’ Society to reflect that.

At each monthly meeting, held on the first Thursday of the month, at 7.30pm, except August, we have a floral demonstration from a National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies (NAFAS) authorised flower demonstrator and they often travel from far and wide to display their skills.  

We have several times won medals at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Silver Gilts and Silvers and have had among our Members a National Judge and demonstrators.

We hold an annual Garden Party in August at a Member’s house with large gardens and have, over the years, raised funds for charity; but nowadays it is to raise funds for the Club.  Other fundraising events have been coffee mornings and even line dancing!!

Recently we have ventured overseas for visits to gardens in Europe, Monet’s garden in France, the King of Belgium’s Green houses in Brussels, Keukenhof gardens near Amsterdam and various other venues, all arranged by a member of the Club.

We would love to see you at our friendly Club. Just make yourself known to the ‘door’ ladies and you can be assured of a warm welcome.

We meet on the first Thursday of the month.

We have a dedicated telephone number – 07590 600 566. Do get in touch if you’re interested.

Our flower displays at the Eastcote House Jubilee Picnic are here