Viburnum Opulus branch,cotoneaster horizontalis berries (red) and melia
berries (green)

BEFORE'S AND AFTER'S

We are becoming more and more conscious of reducing waste in all aspects of our lives. This includes our ikebana, where we are encouraged to reuse materials as much as possible. Mr Kawana made a particular point of this in one of his very early visits to Melbourne and I have been trying to follow his instructions as much as possible.

The same vine in a wall arrangement
 with hydrangea and echinops

'Arrangement Using Vine'
Wisteria, cotoneaster berries and hydrangea

'Dried Bleached or Coloured Material'
Coloured Acacia aphyla, horsetail and peones

The same horsetail with rose

I made this arrangement with some leftover materials but I wasn't completely happy with it. When we were discussing this in class, I realized what it was that bothered me about it. The mahonia flowers were placed naturalistically, whereas the leaves were more modern.

 So, I gave it a 'haircut'. I think it's an improvement

                                  

                                                                                             

And once the mahonia flowers died, I replaced them with this hydrangea

You may remember, on a previous post, my delight in all my beautiful agapanthus flowers. Well, I was much less delighted when I had to remove them all after they died. It was a long and tiring job but it gave me the opportunity to play around with flowers and stems.

'Only one kind of material'

The same arrangement a week later

Agapanthus stems

Bye for now,
Emily