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