24th January, 2021

 

Queen's Tears bromeliad flowers and Pinellia tripartita leaves in 
ceramic container

Hello all,

I'd like to start with an announcement that I will be running an Ikebana workshop at the Bulleen Art and Garden Centre on 28th February. For more information please click on the link and then on 'Classes and Workshops' http://www.baag.com.au/

This workshop is one of three that I was booked to conduct last year but were cancelled. I'm happy that things have improved sufficiently to allow for such events to go ahead.

I'm also going to try something I've been wanting to do for some years. I'm going to run an Ikebana Masterclass once a month, beginning in February, for the more advanced students of ikebana. I'm quite excited about this and am really looking forward to it.

After the Zoom demonstration over a week ago, all the surfaces in the house still have arrangements on them. There is nowhere to display any new ones. But I have left over material from the demo as well as new material in the garden that must be used.

In this first one, Vicky gave me three pieces of the fan-aloe (Kumara plicatilis) for the demo. Having used only one, I wanted to play around with another. I love it when I have the opportunity of workshopping some material because I learn about its properties, difficulties etc. In this case, the aloe is soft to the touch but can snap quite easily but, most importantly, it is very heavy. Here's what I did with it.

Fan Aloe with dahlia in ceramic container

I tried to pull out a leaf from my Bromeliad Neoregelia but was not careful enough and pulled out the centre of the plant. I couldn't think of any way to use it other than the way it grows naturally. I merely had to find a suitable container. It looked quite good on its own but I felt I needed to add something more. Hence the wisteria vine.

Bromeliad Neoregelia and wisteria vine in ceramic container

My clump of umbrella grass (cyperus alternifolius), has spread so much that it is encroaching on the grass path. I finally cut it back very hard, digging up all the self seeded plants along the way. This provided me with an abundance of the lovely, long stems. These, too, had to be used and I found a couple of different ways to do so.

Umbrella grass stems and hydrangeas in ceramic container

The container in this next arrangement was brought to me by my good friend, Olga when she dropped in recently. She said that she and her daughter came across it and bought it for me. How lucky am I? And this is not the first time Olga did this. I have another container from her from some years ago, which I have used extensively.

Umbrella grass stems and and leek
flowers in ceramic container

I finally dismantled the large arrangement with the pear branches. As I was about to cut them up and put them in the garden waste bin, an idea emerged and I brought them back inside and started anew.

I trimmed, then balanced the branches downwards on this pedestal with an opening on one side. I placed a small branch inside the cavity, giving the impression that the branches are growing through the wall. I decided on the leek and garlic flowers to complete the arrangement, thinking that the monochrome effect would be smart. Hmmm, maybe.

When I photographed it I found it less impressive than I expected. The skeletal look of the branches was somewhat lost against the dark background and the flowers looked dull.

So, I went out into the garden looking for brighter coloured flowers and there were the dahlias, as bright as bright can be. I also changed the background by placing the arrangement against this chartreuse coloured wall. Two quite different looks. I'm not sure which I like best.

Before

After

,

I leave you with this simple, little, wall arrangement using aeoniums in a metal container.

Bye for now,

Emily

Zoom Demonstration January, 2021

 

Glass arrangement - gloriosa lily in two glass containers

Hello all,

Well, the zoom demonstration, for which I've been preparing for some time, is over and, judging by the comments on Facebook and messages to me personally, it was well received. I want to thank all of you, who have taken the time to give me such positive feedback. It means a great deal and I will endeavour to answer all your messages. Unfortunately, as I'm not on Facebook, I can't reply to those comments. But I do thank you, most sincerely. By the way, for those who have missed it but would like to see it, it can be seen on YouTube 

https://youtu.be/ZRaB-3wEpi8

Or Facebook

 https://www.facebook.com/ikebanainternationalmumbaichapter

Following are photographs of all the arrangements of the demo in the order they were made.

Fan Aloe in glass container

Agapanthus and nandina domestica nana in ceramic container

Wooden structure made from dried flower stem of New Zealand Flax

Hydrangeas and crucifix orchids in ceramic container

Dried and sprayed agapanthus, mahonia and alstroemeria psittacina
in ceramic container

Garlic flowers and bromeliad leaves in
self made ceramic container

For the next arrangement using strelitzia nicolai and a gymea leaf I'm including two different views because one can't do it justice. I'm very grateful to my sister-in-law, Betty for providing me with the flower because mine are past their best.

Front view

Side view

Valentine's Day Arrangement

Hearts made of agapanthus stems, roses, gypsophila and
chocolates

The container in this next arrangement is an up-side-down fruit bowl with a small tsubo vase on top. Because of all the drama in the container, I used only one flower, a Crucifix orchid, to complete the arrangement.

Manipulated alium flowers in a kintsugi-repaired ceramic vase

For my finale I made a large arrangement using Australian natives on a very strong, black, perforated metal structure. I had used this structure at our last Ikebana International exhibition in a very modern way, using just gymea leaves bent through it. This time I used it very differently. I wanted to contrast the strength of the structure with the softness of floral material.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I was not sure of the names of some of the native material because I don't grow them myself. Still, that's not a good excuse - I should have looked them up. I'm grateful to one participant who wrote and gave me the names, making it much easier for me to check them out.

The materials were - Cootamundra wattle, Corimbia ficifolia, Banksia baxteri, Kangaroo paw and dietes leaves.

I must say, one more time, how grateful I am to Mrs Taruna Agarwal of Mumbai Chapter for inviting me to do this demo and for organising everything so well. It was a new experience from which I learnt quite a lot.

The greatest challenge for me in this demonstration was trying to visualise an audience when all I could see was the laptop screen with me in it. I've done many demonstrations and feel comfortable doing them but I've always had feedback from the audience. Without that, it was quite surreal. 

Bye for now,

Emily

11th January, 2021

 Hello all,

I've mentioned before the Zoom demonstration that I will be conducting on Friday. Below is the poster and details.

It will be live streamed on facebook at: www.facebook.com/ikebanainternationalmumbaichapter

 Or by Zoom at: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87386575321

Meeting ID: 873 8657 6321

As you can understand, I've been quite busy preparing for the demo and have not had time to make as many arrangements for the blog as usual .

I'll share with you the methods I have employed to safeguard some of the fruits in our garden from a variety of local fauna.

I grow strawberries in 5 large pots every year and have tried netting them in the past, with little success. Also, when the net is properly secured all around the pots, it makes it difficult to access the fruit as they ripen. This year I built a cage and it has worked a treat. The vertical wire mesh is fixed but the top acts like a removable lid. We have not lost a single strawberry.

For the apple tree and the persimmon tree I made 70 bags out of fine netting with a drawstring at the top. I put clusters of the fruit in each bag and tie the string tightly not allowing room for birds or rodents to enter. Last year we lost all the fruit on the persimmon tree in one night. The culprits - a cloud of bats (yes, that's the collective noun for bats. I looked it up). Obviously, with this method I can't cover all the fruit and I don't mind sharing the rest with other creatures. I just want to make sure we get to eat some of them.

Persimmon tree laden with fruit

Two weeks ago I wrote about the large branch that fell from the pear tree. Unfortunately, another one has fallen since. It looks very much like it's on its way out. It's my understanding that when a plant is about to die it puts out a last ditch attempt to procreate by producing a much greater number of flowers and fruit. I think this applies to our pear tree because this year it has many more fruit than ever before.

The original, large arrangement I made with a pear branch has had a number of incarnations. This  often happens when we make an arrangement and, as we walk past it, we see faults and make changes. In the original I wanted to retain the leaves and the fruit. As they dried, I removed them, leaving the branch bare, which made it look weak. I, then, cut another branch and added it at the back. I changed the flowers from hydrangeas to agapanthus, which are quite similar. Then I added the crocosmia over the bare branches and, all in all, I was much happier.

The original arrangement

The final version

And here's another arrangement using a pear branch. Here I used dahlias, crocosmia and cumquats in a stainless steel container. Colours in a similar tonal range.

Here's another little surprise my garden has produced. These flowers are arum lilies, which flower in winter and not to be confused with calla lilies, which flower in summer. Not only are they flowering way out of season but, they also, have a mutation. Instead of one, white sheath, called 'spathe' they have two in opposite directions. I'll be keeping an eye on this particular plant to see what it does next year.

I was going to say I hope to see you all at the demo but, of course, I will only be seeing the laptop. So, I'll say I hope you will join the meeting, or, if the time is inconvenient, you can catch it on Facebook later.

Bye for now, 

Emily

4th January, 2021

 

Gymea leaves and Asiatic lilies, a gift from my sister-in-law, Toula

Hello all,

And a Happy New Year to each and every one of us! Apart from times of war, there has never been a year with so much pressure to do better than the one before. Poor 2021!

Apart from some losses, such as the pear tree branch falling and my much prised, tree peony dying, it has been a good year in the garden. The plentiful rain has done wonders and all my plants are bursting with life. I love most of all the little surprises that the garden produces. One such surprise was when I was cutting gymea leaves and a flash of red caught my eye. When I looked closely, I saw a single flower attached to the stump, which was left after the flower stem was cut earlier in the year.

This is what the flower head looks like 
normally

I noticed a couple of pots, which appeared to have only soil in them, bringing out unfamiliar looking leaves. Try as I might, I could not remember what I planted in them. Until this week when a flower appeared. Mystery solved! Vicky had given me some bulbs of a different type of Haemanthus coccineus to the one I have. It is called Haemanthus fireball plant.

The flower is not fully open

These Beefsteak begonia leaves have been
in this little vase for months and have sent roots

My gloriosa lilies are full of flowers and must be used. I made a number of arrangements with these short stemmed flowers. Of course, they can't compare to the gloriosa ball outside Sogetsu Headquarters, recently but I have the added advantage of having watched them grow and enjoy following their progress.

Gloriosa lilies with bamboo

With contorted Hazel - Corylus avellana 'contorta'

With sansevieria and wisteria vine

This next arrangement came about because the large, silver sprayed material fell from its shelf in the garage just as I was walking past. I needed a ladder to put it back and, with the cars in the way, it was too difficult. It was much easier to make an arrangement with it, instead. I used 9 pink hydrangea flowers, which, unfortunately, can't be seen very well in the photo.

I found this aeonium stem broken in the garden. It appeared to have broken some time ago but these succulents are quire resilient and I quickly found a use for it.

Just before I leave you, a quick amendment on the date of my proposed Zoom demonstration. It will now be on Friday, 15th January. Mumbai time - 12.00 pm, Australia time - 5.30 pm.

Bye for now,

Emily