AGAPANTHUS AND AGAVE

 

Hello all,

It's the time of year when the agapanthus have to be dead headed, a job that I can't do in one go but over a few weeks. Needless to say, I'm always tempted to use some of the cuttings for ikebana. One example is the photo, above. This arrangement could also address the theme 'With one kind of Material Only', as does the one below.

I love the sculptural appearance of agave, however, it has taken me decades to learn how to use it successfully. Firstly, I had to accept the fact that I cannot manipulate the large, strong pieces but have to design my arrangement around the shape that already exists. Secondly, they are very heavy and require a heavy container to support them. Thirdly, a kenzan cannot be used successfully because of its soft flesh. And lets not even mention the thorns along each side.

I was working on a project, which I will reveal to you in due course, which required a couple of agave pieces with a very specific shape. I had cut about 10 pieces before I got the two I needed. So, I was left with eight that I, certainly, could not throw away. Hence the arrangement, above, and the three below.

A little way down my street the council had trimmed some oak trees and the beautiful cuttings with their autumnal foliage were lying on the ground. This was not an opportunity to be missed. Two arrangements came from that lucky find.

Apologies for the poor quality of this photo

Oak branch, Japanese anemones and persimmons

It's always a source of joy for me when my Kamo-hon-ami camellia begins flowering. I cut the first flower and teamed it with two pomegranates from my tree that only produced three fruit this year.

Cym made a freestyle arrangement by  reusing two phalaenopsis orchids she had in her arrangement at the Flower and Garden Show. She used Eucalyptus pulverulenta, from which she removed most of the leaves, leaving only a few at the tips and arranged hem to create curved lines.

Mary's Easter arrangement was loosely based on Variation No. 6 slanting style.  She used Port St John creeper, jerberras and three, yellow dyed Easter eggs in copper cones.

Bye for now,

Emily

8TH APRIL, 2024

 

Hello all,

Well, you've seen the flyer and it's quite self explanatory. My students and I are excited and working hard towards it. I hope to see some of you there. 

Back to class. The advanced students were asked to make a celebratory arrangement for Easter. 

The arrangement, below, is mine. I started with the container because of its egg like shape. I then added some purple statice, being the Easter colour for the Greek Orthodox Church and Japanese anemones with the amaranthus draping in front. I had died the Easter eggs some years ago and are now dry on the inside and quite light.

We had the pleasure of a guest student, Patricia Borrie (Patsy), from Christchurch at our last class. As an overseas traveller she could not bring anything and had to use my containers and materials from my garden. She said it was challenging for her to arrive unprepared but once she got started, she quite enjoyed it. She chose two,S-shaped containers, one on top of the other. Her materials were hydrangeas, gloriosa lilies and amaranthus.

Vicky used an exquisite, newly acquired vase by John Stroomer. She used oriental lilies and a kiwi vine coloured navy, from which she hung pale blue ornamental Easter eggs.

Nicole is particularly fond of pink. She had sprayed a branch silver and hung from it Easter eggs in mauve coloured foil.She added hydrangeas and pink and silver mizuhiki.

Having finished early, Nicole made another arrangement using one of my containers and materials from my garden.

Bredenia had a couple of stems of tamarillo with small red fruit hanging from them, looking a lot like died Easter eggs. Behind her yellow vase she placed a smaller one with a mass of miniature marigolds.

Wendy's class theme was 'Paying Attention to the View from Above'. She used branches of swan plant (Gomphocarpus physocarpus), gerberas and sprigs of powton tree seed pods in a ceramic tsubo vase.

Lei's class theme was 'Arrangement Expressing a Movement'. She found branches with interesting curves which she painted red. She added gypsophila and delicate little sasanqua camellias in a ceramic vase. The movement she wanted to express was 'Rising'.

I leave you with this little arrangement using the fruit of my evergreen dogwood (cornus capitata) and hydrangeas in a glass vase.

Bye for now,

Emily

1ST APRIL, 2024

 

Hello all,

When I dismantled the exhibit arrangement from the Flower and Garden Show, most of the materials were still viable and, being loathe to discard them, I made another arrangement, above.

My aeonium plant was growing quite vigorously, then for no good reason, the flowers became tiny at the end of the limbs. Because this material does not require water,I was able to join a number of the limbs to create the structure. I added the red anthuriums and two fatsia leaves.

The ginger flowers in my garden have all died a while ago but I found a couple of fresh ones in my travels and couldn't resist the large, fragrant flower heads. I wanted to emphasise the angles of the stems by placing them opposite each other. I added palm grass (setaria palmifolia) and an unconventional material in the form of plastic covered wire.

For last class I set the theme for the advanced students - 'Sketching and Arranging' This is an interesting exercise because one is required to imagine what the arrangement would look like and sketch it. Then, when attempting to arrange the materials according to the sketch, one finds that it cannot be made exactly as was imagined. We need to be flexible and allow the materials to dictate sometimes. The sketch itself is only for the student's use, so I will not include the sketch for each arrangement.

Lucy made the arrangement below, using viburnum opulus branches and rose clusters in a ceramic container.

Bredenia used a bamboo structure over a heavy, ceramic container. She added leucadendrons inside the structure and some small branches of snowberry (Symphoricarpos) shrub.

Vicky used a large nandina domestica branch in an umbrella like shape over bouganvillia and African daisies (osteospermum), in a delightful, ceramic container.

Nicole made her favourite arrangement - Using a number of materials in a basket.

Mary created interesting shapes using umbrella grass stems and added cascading amaranthus inflorescences through them. She then added hydrangeas to the side and back.

Dianne, coincidentally, had the same lesson as the advanced students. She used magnolia branches and stunning, pink roses in a ceramic trough.

Mary's other arrangement was from Book 5 of the curriculum - 'Improving Your Technique - In a Suiban Without a Kenzan'. She used Manchurian pear branches with tiny fruit but no leaves, which she placed in and out of the container. She added sansevierias and lisianthus.

I leave you with this photo that was taken by my granddaughter, Althea of a possum. We have exterior blinds on our windows and, between the blind and the glass, there is the window ledge, about 12 cm wide. On one side of the window ledge there is a mother possum with two babies, which she suckles and on the other side is a large male. The photo is of the male. The poor, nocturnal animal must have been quite startled because Althea was using the torch on my phone to see them better.

Bye for now,

Emily

Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2024

 

Hello all,

The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show ended its 5 day run last night. It has become a tradition for the Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter to take part in the floral competitions. This year there were 8 arrangements by members representing 5 schools of ikebana. As this is the 65th anniversary of our chapter, the theme for our arrangements was 'Celebration'. The chapter provided each one of us with two bunches of mizuhiki - one silver and one gold - as a common thread. We were to use as much or as little of this material as we pleased. Also, we were required to use a black container.

As has happened in previous years, we were, again, awarded a silver medal.

For my arrangement, above, I thought  'what better way to represent 'celebration' than with fireworks'. I used agapanthus flower inflorescences which I sprayed gold and the stems black. I wanted to represent a skyline at night, hence the umbrella grass stems wired together o represent skyscrapers. Five bunches of the darkest coloured statice filled the large, wide container and, finally, the mizuhiki cascading down from a piece of bamboo.

Lucy Papas used two large, fan palms one side of which she sprayed gold. Yellow disbud chrysanthemums and dancing lady orchids (oncidiums) were the floral materials and two bunches of mizuhiki added to the festive look.

Cym used a donut shaped container with three openings. She secured two monstera leaves through the top opening and into the bottom one. She added red anthuriums, phalaenopsis orchids and gypsophila. She wound the mizuhiki into a circle, reflecting the shape of the container and allowed some to cascade down, below the plinth.

The three of us who made the arrangements, above, are members of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana.

The arrangement, below, was made by Chieko Yazaki, the head of Shogetsudo koryu School of Ikebana. In her large, black urn, she used black pine (Pinus thunbergii), Chrysanthemums, oriental lilies, bromeliad and a dried branch. She draped the mizuhiki generously around the front.

Chieko's student, Magdalena O'Kane, made the next arrangement. She used a dried branch, pine, lotus pods, swan plant flowers (Gomphocarpus physocarpus), cellocias and hypericum berries. She draped the mizuhiki to follow the line of the branch.

The next arrangement was made by two members of the Ikenobo School - Joanne Huang and Angela Chau. I don't feel qualified to explain or comment on this arrangement except to say that it was quite lovely. If you look closely, you will see a small piece of mizuhiki at the bottom right side.

The arrangement representing the Ohara School was made by Felicia Huang in two ceramic suibans. She used a number of materials creating a pond-like arrangement. Again, I have to refrain from commenting as, I fear, I won't do it justice.

The arrangement by Naomi Cullen of the Ichiyo School could not be photographed very well because of its position in front of two other arrangements.

And, finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my student, Lei Wang for the great job she did in photographing our arrangements. 

Bye for now,

Emily

19TH MARCH, 2024

 

Hello all,

Some of you may have noticed that this post is one day late. It's because I was preparing my exhibit for the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show (MIFGS) until very late last night. I'm one of eight members of Ikebana International, each one of us having installed an arrangement celebrating 65 years of our Melbourne chapter. I will include photos of the exhibits in my next post. In the meantime, I recommend visiting the show. There's quite a lot of floral work and garden design to see and, more importantly, plants to buy.

The garlic flowers in the arrangement, above, were given to me by Dianne some time ago and I used them in an arrangement with canna lily leaves. Then, when the leaves died, the garlic flowers were still viable so I tried using them in a different arrangement. The branch is of a Manchurian pear and the pendulous material is amaranthus. I won the ceramic container at an Ikebana International raffle.

Speaking of Ikebana International, we had a meeting and workshop last week with the guest presenter being Mizuhiki-artist Anna Konecny. She guided us in making a flower using mizuhiki and a number of the members created an arrangement in which mizuhiki was used.

It's uncharacteristic of me to be unprepared but I was that morning. So I lifted out the garlic flowers from the previous arrangement, picked a fresh amaranthus stem and the first bunch of mizuhiki I could get my hands on. The result, below.

I had asked my colleague, Trish Ward, who has an amazing garden, for some cuttings from her hydrangea paniculata 'Tardiva', so I could try to strike them. She, very generously, gave me a number of stems with gorgeous blooms. These flowers are so showy that they require no other materials. I trimmed off most of the leaves and placed them in a large, ceramic vase. An example of the lesson 'Using One Kind of Material'. I took cuttings from the lower parts of the stems and placed them in a pot with seed raising mixture. I'll let you know if I'm successful.

I had another, large branch of Manchurian pear and, as luck would have it, I was given a bunch of stunning store bought Hydrangea paniculata (I think it's 'Limelight') by my student Cym Reeves. So the two came together plus I added some roses.

Another example of 'Using One Kind of Material' is the next arrangement. I love my agaves but they can get unruly and encroach onto the path. So I trimmed a few 'leaves' and kept the interesting ones to arrange. I tried adding a number of different materials in the arrangement but the agave clearly wanted to be left alone.

In the next arrangement I, again, used agave but this time I added two haemanthus lilies that have just come up from, what appear to be, dead rhizomes. Once the flowers die down, large, fleshy, green leaves will grow, which I prize much more than the flowers.

Yesterday we had the Sogetsu Victoria AGM and workshop. Aileen Duke presented the double theme of 'Using an Ordinary Household Item' and 'Colours in the Same Tonal Range'.

My household item was a stainless steel fruit bowl/bread basket, a gift from my sister, Lucy.

I balanced the bowl on its side over a small, ceramic suiban with a kenzan in it. Underneath the bowl I added a sprig of nandina domestic nana in its autumnal colours and on top of the bowl, through the holes, I placed two pink roses and three, thin amaranthus stems, draping down.

To quote the late, great Peter Cundall - 'That's your lot for the week'.

Bye for now,

Emily

11TH MARCH, 2024

 

Hello all,

The advanced students were given the theme 'Green Pant Materials' at last class. In this exercise we rely on the variety of green colours, size, texture and shape of different plant materials to create interest. Obviously variegated materials and branches with strong colours are to be avoided.

In my arrangement, above, I used fig branches with the leaves removed, agapanthus seed heads with the seeds removed and young gymea leaves (doryanthes palmeri), in a self made, ceramic container. I left one fig that was yellowing as an example for the students of the sorts of things that must be removed.

Vicky used a number of glossy green, aspidistra leaves agapanthus inflorescences and nandina domestica in a ceramic suiban.

Nicole used a pine branch sweeping forward and aspidistra leaves halved, folded and pinned.

Bredenia used two agave pieces, clivia berries and a small stem of eucalyptus. The agaves look as though they are touching in the photograph but, in fact, they are  not. There is space between them.

Mary used swan flowers (Gomphocarpus Physocarpus), strelitzia leaves and Japanese anemones leaves in a ceramic suiban to create a vertical arrangement.

Lei's curriculum theme was 'Kakebana' , an arrangement displayed by hanging the container on a wall or pillar. She created a structure by joining triangles of fine bamboo and placed it over a slim, bamboo shaped, ceramic container. She added two dahlias at the back and an amaranthus draping forward.

Shaneen's revision arrangement was 'Seasonal Materials'. She had a great number of flowers from her prolific garden but I encouraged her to leave out at least half of them. She settled on salvias, belladonna lilies, sedum and marguerite daisies. Unfortunately, the space between the materials is lost in the photo.

My Japanese flowering quince produced a number of small, inedible fruit, which looked quite charming. I used them with a couple of crucifix orchids in a ceramic vase.

The son of family friends was getting married on Saturday and I wanted to send them a floral gift with the card. I made an arrangement using philodendron leaves trimmed to reduce their size and sprayed silver on the top side. I added white lisianthus and gypsophila in a glass vase.

I went to lunch at my friend Erica's last week and brought a floral offering. I used a manchurian pear branch and hydrangeas in a ceramic vase.

Bye for now,

Emily