VISITORS from as far afield as Australia and France enjoyed a delightful floral tribute to poet Edward Thomas in his home village of Steep.

They admired 17 tableaux of flowers, foliage and accessories, created by community groups and displayed in the village church for the three-day Edward Thomas Festival of Flowers.

The occasion was organised by All Saints and The Edward Thomas Fellowship to mark the centenary of the poet’s death. As well as promoting the poetry and prose of Thomas, it raised £1,200 towards conserving and enhancing the church.

Each of the displays represented a piece of prose or poem with pupils from Steep Primary School making 20 nests full of flowers, inspired by Thomas’s Birds Nests poem. There was musical entertainment and teas too.