The North Otago Floral Art Club celebrated 50 years in style at St Luke's Hall, in Oamaru, on Saturday.
A crowd of about 130 watched Duntroon florist Paige Wills create 14 floral designs, from vertical European style designs to structural bouquets, using 25 varieties of flowers and a focus on layering colours and textures.
She told the crowd she once thought carnations were "old lady flowers''.
"But I've come around on them in a big way.''
While demonstrating floral designs, the international award-winning florist said she liked to use materials for the bases "you wouldn't expect together''.
The club's president Jan Wheeler called her work "amazing'' after the demonstration was finished and the bouquets had been raffled off.
The floral art club, which is a branch of the South Canterbury Floral Arts Club, began on March 30, 1966, "when a meeting was called for all those interested in forming a floral art society'' and 35 people attended.
Today, the group boasts an "enthusiastic'' membership of 22, providing weekly floral displays at the Forrester Gallery.
Two of the group's three life members, Marion Partridge and Joy Evans, both of Oamaru, cut the cake to mark the 50th anniversary celebrations.
Mrs Partridge, who has been a member of the club since 1974 when she lived in the Hakataramea Valley, said one of the greatest benefits of being a member was the friendships she formed.
"People marvelled that I drove all the way from the Haka Valley,'' she told the crowd before she cut the cake.
"But I had three small children and I needed to get out of the house.''
