5TH FEBRUARY, 2024

 Hello all,

The arrangement, above, has evolved after two other, unsuccessful attempts. And, finally, I'm reasonably happy with it. 

The first, below, seemed a good idea when I designed it in my head but, when I finished it, I was not entirely happy.

.......The second one, below, was also somewhat disappointing as I expected a greater contrast between the monstera leaf and the gold sprayed leaves. As frustrating as this situation can be, it is a great learning experience.

In an effort to be responsible and use as much of the materials as possible, I wanted to use the offcuts of the monstera deliciosa leaf. However, they were quite floppy, since there was no spine to them, so I chose two, rectangular, glass containers in which they could be placed and, thus, held up. I placed the cream calla lily at the back, just peaking out.

I have a pot of small, yellow kniphofias which has just produced three flowers. I kept the first one straight and arranged it with a single squigly grass in a small. ceramic container. The other two I manipulated to create curved stems.

I had used the basic structure of the next arrangement at Christmas with Cashmere cypress, white hydrangeas and mizuhiki. Now, with an abundance of gloriosa lilies, I replaced the original, fresh materials with the lilies and Japanese anemone leaves.

Original

I have a self seeded fern growing next to my favourite rose bush, causing all kinds of problems. I was pruning it back very hard when I discovered more young plants growing between the rocks. I have tried using the fern in ikebana but it doesn't last very long. I wanted to try using the small plant with its roots intact to see how well it would last. The problem I had was that, with its rounded base, it would not be penetrated by the kenzan spikes.

.....So, I wired a bamboo skewer to one of the stems. The skewer went into the kenzan securely, holding up the fern.

And then I usd it in a naturalistic arrangement together with more gloriosa lilies.

Mary did a Double Shin arrangement using long gladiolas and nandina domestica nana.

She finished the arrangement with time and materials to spare, so, I suggested she, also, make a ka-bu-wa-ke arrangement to compare the subtle differences between the two.

At the bottom of the garden I found a bromeliad flower called Queen's Tears that had to be arranged. I was looking for some delicate material to use with it and settled on this fern, Nephrolepis exaltata. I removed most of the leaves leaving the thin, dark stems and placed them all in a vase with three holes on each side.

Bye for now, 

Emily