STRELITZIAS REGINAE

 

Hello all,

My clump of bird of paradise (strelitzia reginae) has been quite prolific and I've been enjoying arranging them. The stem of one of the flowers was so long that the whole thing was taller than me. Photo below.

Having cut it, I was faced with the dilemma of how to use that long stem in an arrangement. After all, what's the point of that length if I was going to cut it away. The arrangement at the top of this post is what I came up with. I photographed it without filling the vases with water because they would have been too heavy to carry to their designated spot. The large vase on its own weighs 4 kilos.

I was very excited when I saw the shape of this particular flower, below. I've been known to manipulate plants to create interesting shapes but I cannot possibly compete with nature. She never ceases to amaze and delight me.

I needed a long lasting arrangement in this spot on the wall and, with the abundance of strelitzias, it was an obvious choice. And, yes, I'm aware that there is a bit of a pattern coming through. I do like my angles.

At our recent Ikebana International meeting, our guest speaker was Miriam Ford, the President of Australian Plants Society. We were asked to bring native 'sustainable' arrangements. Australian native plants tend to suit naturalistic arrangements, however, I wanted to challenge myself to create a more contemporary one. I used two gymea leaves (doryanthes palmeri), leafless wattle (acacia aphylla) and yellow banksia in a ceramic container.

Lei's class theme was 'Arrangements for Celebrations' and she chose Christmas. She used a heavy, glass vase in the shape of a ball and added a structure she made by gluing together colourful baubles. The asparagus densiflorus created space, lines and added life to the arrangement.

Dianne's class theme was 'Intertwining Plant Materials'. She used Tatarian dogwood branch (cornus Sibirica alba) and coloured flax which she loosely wove through the branch. She added a pink rose as a focal point.

Shaneen's class theme was from the Fifty Principles of Ikebana, number 45. 'If the flowers are the main feature, the container should be subordinate to the flowers. Likewise, if the container is the main focus, then the flowers should be secondary to it'. Shaneen chose to emphasise the flowers and keep the vase subordinate. She used flag iris in a rich, purple colour and star jasmine.

For the advanced students I had set the very last lesson in book 5 - 'What Ikebana Can do Today'. They were to approach some shop owner or trader to allow them to place an arrangement in their premises.

Nicole used in her arrangement contorted hazel (Corylus avellana 'Contarta') and waratah flowers, a big bunch of which was brought to class by Dianne for all to share.

Vicky's Christmas themed arrangement was to go to her hairdressing salon. She used a monstera deliciosa leaf, hippeastrums and hydrangea in two red vases. She finished it off with the addition of mizuhiki as an extra nod to Christmas.

Lucy's arrangement was to be placed on a table at the reception area of the nursing home where our mother is residing. She used more of those fabulous waratahs, golden elm branches and iceberg roses in a large, ceramic vase.

Mary's freestyle arrangement was made using New Zealand flax leaves and banksias in a heavy, footed suiban.

Bye for now,

Emily