SAM'S SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY

 

Sam blowing out the candles with his two, beautiful assistants.

Hello everyone,

I usually try to keep the personal content in this blog to a minimum but this is a once in a lifetime event and I had to share it. Sam is turning seventy this month and we, the family, planned a surprise birthday party for him. I'd booked a restaurant as we couldn't have it at home and invited 70 people. It took a great deal of subterfuge and a number of ruses to prevent him from guessing what we were planning.

Because Sam works from home, I could make no preparations here, so I had to keep inventing reasons to go to Vicky's place so we could work on the cake, which looks simple enough but was, in fact quite challenging. 

All our efforts were rewarded because the party was a resounding success, especially for the birthday boy, who was totally surprised. It helps that he is just about the most trusting person I know. Everyone at the party was commenting on how good it was to catch up with friends after such a long time. The kids were particularly excited at the idea of a surprise and were very good at keeping the secret. A couple of them even had a speech for their papou. 

I wanted a floral arrangement next to the cake and, because of lack of time, I reworked one I had done for my demonstration at the Box Hill Town Hall. Originally, the bamboo was green and, as it faded, it became quite dull, so I sprayed it black and used anthuriums instead of the crucifix orchids. I also added some alstroemeria psittacina leaves.

And now back to ikebana. A lovely family has recently moved into the property adjoining the back of ours. The previous owner had managed to alienate all the neighbours and we were  all delighted to see him go. Anyway, there is a mature weeping mulberry on this very large property, which I can see from my balcony and which I have always coveted. Benny, the neighbour, seems so friendly that I felt I could ask if I could cut some of the underneath stems. Well, he was so generous, he brought out a chain saw and cut two very big pieces and offered to cut more if I wanted it. Needless to say I was extremely grateful and as soon as I get a minute I'll bake some biscuits for them. The first arrangement, which featured in last week's post is made with the very twisted, thick part of the underside of the plant.

The second one is with a very big branch of the 'weeping', exterior part that I had to trim substantially but which still remains big. The giant  euphorbia were grown and given to me by Lucy and were ideal to balance with the size of the branch. I find the new leaf buds on the branch particularly charming. They have grown bigger since the photo was taken.

In situ on the dining table.

And the offcuts were not to be discarded. The gentle curves of those long stems worked well in the striking, lacquered suiban. The arum lilies follow the lines of the stems and I kept the alstroemeria psittacina quite low so as not to obstruct the curves of the stems.

My aeonium produced a flower, which I've been wanting to use for some time and today was the day. The red dogwood (Cornus Siberica alba) has been a deep red colour all winter and now is producing bright green leaves on the tips of the red stems. Gorgeous! So I put th two together in a large, ceramic vase.

Another charming plant is my leafless wattle (acacia aphylla), especially this time of year when it is in flower. Unlike most other wattles, its flowers don't grow in clusters but are like individual little gems. It is a small plant so I cut a small piece. The yellow edged petals of the tulips pick up the color of the wattle and the ceramic vase was, also, chosen for its colour.

It is now 11.30 pm and I'm quite exhausted, so I'll wish you all a good night.

Emily