Pussy willow (Salix caprea) and arum lilies in a ceramic vase, much prized
because it once belonged to my friend Gwen Delves

Hello all,

I've tried to keep this strictly an ikebana blog, keeping personal content to a minimum. However, I feel I can now share with you another passion of mine, which precedes ikebana. That's dressmaking.

I started making my own clothes as a teenager when the mini skirt was all the rage and my mother would not make my skirts short enough. To her credit, mum did not forbid me from wearing the scandalously short skirts that I made, thus encouraging me to keep trying and learning to sew. Needless to say, I look back at those early attempts and cringe but perseverance and determination paid off. I can say, without fear of sounding conceited that I'm now quite adept with the needle and thread. I have a large and well stocked sewing room where I like to spend my evenings making clothes for myself and members of my family. This is my time of rest, with the television on in the background, I can spend many happy hours.

Since the grandchildren have arrived I have loved nothing more than to create clothes for all four of them, including the boy. It's just like playing with dolls except that they are real. Oh, and they have opinions and tastes. Like all grandmothers, I'm totally besotted!

Below are the three recent garments I made for the girls.

A very 'Mod' Granddaughter No. 1

A cheeky Granddaughter No. 2

Granddaughter No. 3, who requested an 'Up' dress

A dress that goes up when she twirls

So, now back to Ikebana. Last week, for our Ikebana International meeting we had the great pleasure of visiting Ripponlea Estate. This is a heritage listed 19th century mansion under the care of The National Trust. Apart from enjoying walking through this magnificent building, we wandered around the 7 hectares of equally magnificent gardens and lake. And, as if that wasn't enough, we were, also, given permission to cut materials from said gardens to make arrangements in the ballroom. We, then, enjoyed a pleasant lunch sitting around the swimming pool.

Wendy used bamboo, the leaves of which
she caught together and two crucifix orchids

Nicole used lichen covered crab apple branches with rhododendron

Jenny used flowering crab apple branches and coleus

Lucy used bamboo and clusters of flowers from a shrub
that's unfamiliar to me

I used Fatsia Japonica berries and leaf and strelitzia juncea leaves

A close up of the black berries on creamy white stems.

In my first arrangement of the fatsia berries, the stem did not reach the water. So, at home I re-arranged it in a different container so that it would be in water. It is, now, nearly a week and both the berries and the leaves still look fresh. I'm so enamoured of this plant, that I went out and bought one on Saturday. I suspect it will be a while before I see berries but then all things come to those who wait. We, gardeners are used to waiting.

I like the berries in the black container. Unfortunately, the contrast of
the black berries against the white stems is not as obvious in the photo

I leave you with this little arrangement I made using berries I trimmed off the main stem.

Bye for now,
Emily