Strelitzia Reginae leaves and amaranthus flower in self made, ceramic container

Hello all,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this blog. I just broke one of my favourite vases. It was a wall vase which I bought in Japan many years ago and I can't replace. Now, I know, that in the greater scheme of things, this is a minor irritant. But I really loved that vase and I have no one to blame but myself. I'm normally very careful with my containers because they are precious to me and It's quite rare that I damage them. Today was one of those rare occasions. The vase was special because it could be used on the wall as well as on the table.

This was to have been my wall arrangement.

This is the compromise. I photographed it at an angle so
as not to show the broken top

I've had this succulent, the name of which I don't know, for a very long time and have never been able to use it. As most succulents, it is slow growing and I had avoided cutting it, until now. It's rather difficult to use but I, painstakingly, bent it to create this horizontal form. The container works well with the different sized holes at the top, holding the stem tightly in place. I used dahlias and alstroemeria psittacina flowers with it. The container is one I made myself a long time ago, The inspiration came from the ceiling of the domestic terminal at Sydney Airport. It was covered by a variety of, what looked like, air conditioning pipes, which gave me the idea for a container. I sketched it while I waited for our flight and, later, at home, made it.

Being stuck at home, I've had an attack of domesticity. Among other things, I wanted to make crabapple jelly, so I asked my poor, longsuffering husband to collect the crabapples. The rockery, on which this tree is growing, is uneven making the use of a ladder very difficult. Poor Sam had a little tumble. Fortunately, he only scraped his arm. Last year's attempt at jelly making was unsuccessful. It didn't set properly. I was determined this year to get it right and I did. Mind you, it took me all morning and all I had to show for it were 5 jars of crabapple jelly.

Whilst we were collecting the fruit I thought I should make at least one arrangement using the crabapple stems. After all, I had planted the tree for ikebana. The jelly was just a bonus.

The arrangement, below, looks simple enough but it required some mechanics to ensure the main stem stayed at the correct angle in this container with only a small hole at the top. I split the stem and fitted into it a strip of bamboo. I often use a bamboo strip for this sort of application because it is thin, thus fitting in the split, but also strong. It worked a treat here and the other materials could be fitted around it.

Crabapple branches and crucifix orchids

The branch in this next arrangement is from the golden elm that I pruned last week. It had a lovely horizontal form but I left it in the bucket too long and it lost most of its leaves. However, in the wet weather we've been experiencing, it grew quite a lot of lichen, sadly not visible in the photo. With the leaves gone, I was able to use the branch upright rather than horizontally. I deliberately left the few leaves on the branch and used four different coloured hydrangeas in a self made container. 

I made this next arrangement because I was pruning this fern that has self seeded next to the rainwater tank and is smothering one of my roses. I like the way it looks in this tall glass vase, as though it's floating. What was fascinating for me was Sam's reaction when he saw it. His comment was "That's Interesting!" He's so used to the house being full of ikebana arrangements, that he rarely comments. I wonder what attracted him to this.

Fern, succulent, dahlias and Japanese anemones

Bye for now,

Emily