Wisteria day.

My arrangement of wisteria and hydrangeas

Hello all,

We had the first class for the year last Wednesday with a workshop on wisteria. Many times I've threatened to get rid of my wisteria, which I planted at least 20 years ago and which has been stubbornly parsimonious in its production of flowers. The neighbours, with whom we share a fence and over which the wisteria has been growing, are also unhappy with its uncontrollable, rambling habit and want it gone. So this was it. If I was going to get rid of the wisteria, I was not going to waste the opportunity, so I provided ample material for all the students to play with.

The result was a very messy but satisfying lesson. I pointed out to the students the main characteristics of this material and suggested that they think about which one they would feature. They could either choose from the cut vines or they could cut their own from the plant. One very important point to remember is that the leaves must be facing upwards. Care needs to be taken in the selection of the stem to be used because anything that grows downwards needs to be arranged downwards so the leaves are facing upwards.

The three arrangements, below are the examples I made featuring different properties of wisteria. In the first I used the vine naturalistically, featuring the curve, which reaches forward. I used hydrangeas with it in a ceramic container.

In the second arrangement I stripped the leaves and left the thin spikes on the vine. This left the material very thin and delicate, so I chose a tall glass vase and I continued the line of the vine, which is visible inside the vase, on the outside. I needed delicate flowers to complete this piece and the crucifix orchids fitted the bill just fine.

In the third arrangement, I wanted to feature the twisting habit of the material. This piece was cut together with many others,indiscriminately, as the plant is very much overgrown and tangled up. When I picked it up from the pile, I noticed that one stem was longer than the other. I thought I would need to shorten it so that they may both go into a container with water. On closer inspection, however, I realised that the longer stem had no leaves attached to it and would, therefore, not need to be in water. So, then came the search for a suitable container and, after trying a number of them, I settled on this vase with holes at the top, allowing the short stem to go into water and the long to extend beyond the vase. The amaranthus flowers and dahlias added colour.

The following arrangements are by some of the students. I have to point out that the photographs don't do justice to the arrangements that have a forward sweep. Depth is lost in the two-dimensional medium of photography. Also, a number of the students are in the early stages of the curriculum but I wanted them to have a go anyway because opportunities like this are infrequent and should be taken advantage of.

Dianne Longley

Rachel Jones

Nicole McDonald

Wendy Sun

Jenny Loo

Shaneen Garbutt

Vicky Kalokathis

Lucy Papas

In between the morning and afternoon classes, we had a most welcome visitor, Dawn George, a colleague  I hadn't seen for a long time. She is a Sogetsu teacher who is no longer teaching and who wanted to sell her containers. It was a real treasure trove for the students, who bought up big. A number of the arrangements done on the day were in the new containers.  I was particularly pleased to get some nageire vases for new students.

Bye for now,
Emily