21st September, 2020

Clivias and arum lilies in a self made ceramic container

Hello all

Spring has exploded in my garden, so much so, that I can't keep up with all the material available for ikebana. And, with classes suspended, I can't even share it with my students. Below is a photo of my clivia bed.

The arum lilies are doing particularly well. They have spread naturally throughout the front rockery but, depending on where they are growing, there are distinct differences between the clumps. The ones higher up on the rockery are somewhat smaller than the ones further down. I'm assuming it's because the lower ones receive more water as it flows downwards. Then, there is one clump that has quite charming distortions. Why this is so is a mystery to me but I love the distortions. In the arrangement, below, I used a curved branch of Viburnum plicatum tomentosum. This is a deciduous shrub with branches that grow horizontally. The large, white flowers grow on top of the branches giving the impression that they are covered with snow. Later, they produce little red berries but they are not very significant.

I have a great abundance of Green Goddess lilies as well as arum lilies. And, although I don't like to repeat, I confess I have made this type of arrangement before. But I really like it, so I make one every year, with slight variations. In this case, I chose the tightly closed arum lilies with fully opened Green Goddess lilies, creating a frilly effect as they cascade down.

With all the beautiful spring flowers, I wanted to make very simple arrangements to highlight the beauty of the individual flower.

The appearance of this flower in my garden came as a total surprise. I was, obviously given the bulbs by some kind soul but I completely forgot about it. I almost missed it because it grows very low with a short stem, so was hidden by the leaves. My student, Shaneen, identified it as Arum italicum - Pictum. I created this very simple structure with a bare elm branch to frame the flower.

Unfortunately, the next day the flower had drooped and folded over itself. It gives new meaning to the word ephemeral.

So, I replaced it with this 'distorted' arum lily. Same family but much more resilient.

Continuing with simple arrangements. 

Iris Japonica and squiggly grass

Arum lily and squiggly grass

Rhododendron

One of the last flowers from my Kamo Hon ami
camellia

Exquisite tulip!

Tulip with lichen covered golden elm branch

I'd like to leave you with this image of these ducks that frequent our back yard. The grass has not been cut for months because of the lockdown, which forbids our lawnmower man from coming. And, as we don't own a lawn mower, Sam can't cut it. As a consequence, the grass is so tall that I din't see the ducks and nearly walked into them. Fortunately, they sensed me and waddled off.

Bye for now,

Emily