Hello all,

My student Dianne Longley, who lives in Trentham, has an enviable, prolific garden and often brings materials to class that are bigger and more beautiful than the ones we grow in Melbourne. Case in point is the huge garlic flowers that she brought and shared with the class. 

I used mine in the arrangement, above, having cut down the very long stems and placed in a ceramic container. I chose the canna lily leaves for their colour to contrast with the garlic flowers.

Last Monday we had our first Sogetsu meeting for the year. It was presented by Angeline Lo, who chose the theme 'The preparation and use of dried materials in Ikebana'. Below is my example, using belladonna lilies and a date palm inflorescence, which I had soaked and shaped to give a wind-swept look. I rarely take the self made, ceramic container out of the house because it is large and awkward to carry and, because it is too precious to risk. However, I made an exception because, I felt, it worked well with the materials. To view the work by Angeline and other members, please go to Sogetsu Victoria Workshop.

My strelitzia nicolai plant produces huge leaves, which are almost impossible to use in an arrangement unless they are cut down somehow. So, it was a delightful surprise to find a small one growing from the bottom of the trunk. I cut it and placed it in a heavy, ceramic container with two openings and added a mass of gloriosa lilies. The lilies did not last very long, so I replaced them with a single sunflower. The leaf is likely to last for weeks and I'm loath to throw it away, so I'll keep replacing the floral material until it dies. 

Now, back to class. I had set another double theme to the advanced students - 'Fruiting Plant Materials' and 'To be Viewed from All Sides'. The most important consideration when using fruiting plant materials is the weight of the branches, necessitating the use of strong, heavy containers.

Below are three views of my arrangement.I used apple branches, a crabapple branch, hydrangeas, amaranthus, dahlias and Portugal laurel berries, in a self made container.

Jenny used orange branches and hydrangeas in a ceramic vase with a number of holes all round.

Bredenia used fig branches, kiwi vine with fruit, hydrangeas and Japanese maple in a heavy, ceramic container.

Vicky's material was osage oranges and was particularly challenging because the fruit are very heavy and likely to drop. She used oriental lilies facing different directions to make it pleasing to view from all sides.

By coincidence, Dianne's class theme was 'To be Viewed from all Sides'. She used one nandina domestica branch and dahlias in a vase with split on two sides.

Shaneen is doing revision and chose her 'favourite' lesson - In a 'Suiban Without a Kenzan'. She used Japanese maple, coprosma and alstroemerias in a rectangular suiban.

Wendy's class theme was 'Keeping in Mind the view from Below'. She used oak branches with acorns, oriental lilies and a fine, mauve material, the name of which escapes me.

Bye for now,

Emily