Hello all,

By this time I had expected to be back home and on the way to recovery. Sadly, that's not the case. I'm still in hospital and, during periods of feeling relatively well, I get onto my computer and work on this blog. I must say, I'm enjoying going through my old photographs. I'm surprised at just how many arrangements I made over the years. Some I find very pleasing and some a little cringeworthy. Don't worry, I won't share those with you.

The arrangement, above, fits into the theme 'Using Both Fresh and Unconventional Materials''. They  are a tarnished copper pipe and Dutch iris (Iris Hollandica) in a self made container. 

In the arrangement, below, I selected newly unfurled strelitzia reginae leaves because they have a burgundy coloured spine, which reflected the colour of the amaranthus, cascading in front. The container is a self made, ceramic one.

The next arrangement fits into the theme 'Using Only One Kind of Material'. The branch is 'Silver Princess' (Eucalyptus caesia). It's the elegant sweep of the branch that makes the arrangement.

Vines can be challenging to arrange because they often grow downwards, therefore they look wrong when placed going upwards. I can't remember making the arrangement, below, but, I believe, the clematis I used must have been growing upwards.

You would have noticed by now that I have a penchant for geometry. Case in point the arrangement, below. I used two, very long gymea leaves and a loquat branch in a ceramic container.

In the arrangement, below, I used two agapanthus flowers with curved stems and one NZ flax leaf in a donut shaped container.

Here's that geometry again. This time I created triangles with bamboo, which I, then, joined together to create a structure. I secured the structure over the tall, glass vase, then added a mass of camellias.

Below is a summer arrangement using different coloured hydrangeas and amaranthus in a tall, metal vase.

This next one is a spring, wall arrangement using wisteria, stems and flowers and roses in a ceramic container.

The container in the arrangement, below, has a large opening at the front and one at the top, which allowed me to weave the gymea leaf through and around it. Then, it was just a matter of placing the hippeastrums to complete the dramatic piece.

Oh dear, here's some more geometry. In this case I created surfaces by wiring together umbrella grass stems and then bent them into the shape, below. The strelitzia reginae is the floral accent placed in the space created by the panels.

Bye for now,

Emily

IKEBANA FROM THE ARCHIVES #2

 

Hello all,

I'd like to start off by thanking all of you who took the time to write to me with words of encouragement and good wishes. I really appreciate it. I believe I replied to all of you but, if I missed any, I apologize.

Unfortunately, my recuperation from surgery has hit a snag and I find myself out of rehab and back in hospital. So, here I am, attached to an intravenous drip, scrolling through my archives for ikebana photographs to share with you in this post. Under the circumstances, I hope you will forgive any mistakes.

The photograph, above, is of two strelitzias reginae, which have so much 'animation' that they required little else but to be paced facing each other.

If memory serves me correctly, the theme for the arrangement, below, was 'Black and White'. The white, ceramic container sits in a black, wooden frame. The branch is dried magnolia sprayed white. The camellia is the 'Kamo Hon Ami' and the berries are from Portuguese laurel.

The large, dried palm in the next arrangement was secured over the large, round container using a horizontal fixture inside the container. The  Asiatic lilies created an informal mass inside the space created by the split in the palm leaf.

I like to arrange my ensata iris in the traditional, naturalistic way. However, in the arrangement, below, I had to use leaves from a different iris because the ensata ones are very curved and just don't work. I used a sprig of Japanese maple and pebbles at the base.

The container in the next arrangement is a stainless steel, truck exhaust, which does not hold water, so required plastic containers inside it for the fresh materials. I secured it onto a wooden board to stand upright. I created a structure with bamboo canes, which I then sprayed white. The fresh materials are arum lilies and variegated New Zealand Flax.

Those of you who have been following my blog will know of my technique of bending agapanthus stems whilst growing. I used two such flower stems in the next arrangement together with cathedral begonia leaves, in a self made container.

The theme of the arrangement, below was 'Paying Attention to the Shape of the Container'. I used umbrella grass stems to create the shapes and a single gloriosa lily in a small ceramic container.

More curved agapanthus flower stems, this time dried and sprayed white. The vase has three holes on either side, into which I was able to place the agapanthus. The fresh materials are 'Altissimo' roses and euphorbia. It was a Christmas arrangement.

I curved the stems of the leek flowers in the same way as the agapanthus. In the arrangement, below, I placed them in a ceramic container with four points and added smoke bush (cotinus grace) to complete it.

I made the arrangement, below, for an Ikebana International workshop the theme for which was 'Kimono'. I used cane sprayed black to represent the shape of the kimono, then added hydrangeas and Portuguese laurel berries.

Bye for now,

Emily

IKEBANA FROM THE ARCHIVES

 Hello all,

I'm sad to say that I still have not recovered from the surgery I had 18 days ago. I'm currently in a rehabilitation hospital and will be here for while yet. This means that I did not make any ikebana arrangements and, therefore, I have no, new photographs to share with you. So, I thought I'd delve into my quite considerable archives and pick a few photos of spring arrangements from the past.

The arrangement, above, is in one of my favourite containers and, of course, the flowers are arum lilies. It fits the theme 'Using Only One Kind of Material'.

The arrangement, below, is in a metal trough and the flowers are cottage gladioli and  hippeastrums. The vine is sprayed wisteria.

In the arrangement, below, the arum lilies had been manipulated by me to create the curves. I chose the hellebores for their muted colours, allowing the lilies to dominate. The container is a stainless steel trough.

In the arrangement, below, I wanted the container by Graham Wilke to dominate, so I kept the two, aeonium flowers close to the opening and added the sprayed, contorted hazel as the lines.

The ceramic container in the next arrangement is quite delicate and not very stable, necessitating the use of fine materials, Here I used spider plant, Chlorophytum comosum, and azalea.

I adore the lush greenness of the viburnum opulus in the arrangement, below and I used it in a large mass together with the skeleton of an umbrella. This is an example of 'Using Both Fresh and Unconventionnal Materials'.

Two, gorgeous strelitzia nicoli flowers and two matching containers was all that was needed to create the arrangement, below.

Another example of 'Using Both Fresh and Unconventional Material' is the arrangement, below. I placed an aluminium mesh, which I had cut into shape over  a metal conical container, then added two stems of oriental lilies.

In the wall arrangement, below, I used wisteria vine, arum lilies and alstroemeria psittacina leaves.

You can't have a spring theme blog post without including some rhododendrons. The branches in the next arrangement were from my tree, which is about 30 years old. A very good investment.

My final arrangement if of the theme 'A Variety of Materials'. It's quite self explanatory.

Bye for now,

Emily

 

Hello all,

So, it's spring and I'm reaping the rewards of the work I put into the garden during winter. The jonquils, with their heady perfume are in great abundance after I planted dozens of bulbs, staggering them to extend their flowering life.

I was, recently, assembling a metal shelf but didn't need all the shelves. I had three left over and just couldn't throw them away. Looking around the studio, the heavy, ceramic container beckoned. I made the arrangement, below, and placed it on the table. It fitted into the theme 'Using Both Fresh and Unconventional Material'. However, each time I walked past it, I felt there was something not quite right.

Metal shelves, arum lilies, nandina domestica berries and alstroemeria psittacina leaves

It came to me, eventually, that I should have used only two of the metal shelves. A good example of 'less is more'.

My leafless wattle, acacia aphylla. is a rather delicate shrub, which is beautiful all year round but is particularly so in spring. Unlike other wattles the flowers are not clustered together but are separate, looking like little jewels scattered on the branches. The leucadendron seemed to team up well with the wattle in the wall arrangement, below.

My magnolia soulangeana is a large tree, however, the last couple of years it has produced flowers only on the lower branches. I had considered cutting it back last year but thought I'd give it one more year before doing so. It looks like I can't put it off much longer.

In the arrangement, below, I teamed magnolia branches with two stems of cymbidium orchids and some alstroemeria psittacina leaves,

The stachyurus shrub is glorious at the moment. Here is a single stem with a single camellia.

I've been in hospital the last couple of weeks having had surgery and a rather protracted and painful recovery. Today I have been transferred to a rehabilitation hospital to continue said recovery. Knowing that I will be out of commission for a while, I had prepared two posts. One of them I published last week and this one today. Whilst in hospital, Vicky and Lucy brought me flower arrangements, which I wanted to include in this post. Fortunately the room was spacious and was able to accommodate three arrangements.

Vicky's arrangement using Japanese flowering 
quince and aspidistra leaves 

Below are Lucy's two arrangements

Monstera deliciosa, cymbidium
orchid, jonquils and dietes leaves.

Japanese flowering quince and
camellias

Bye for now,

Emily

SPRING

 

Stachyurus chinencis and camellias in self made container

Hello all and welcome to spring.

For our regular class on Wednesday I asked the advanced students to bring materials for a freestyle arrangement of their choice. However, when they arrived and took their places in the studio, I asked them to move one place down, thus having to work with another colleague's materials and container.

Nicole, completely out of her comfort zone, was faced with a large magnolia soulangeana branch which required mechanics to secure it in the container. After trimming, she used a horizontal fixture in this large and stable container. She added sprigs of thriptomene to complete the arrangement. The materials came from Jenny.

Jenny took Lei's materials - dried branches and Asiatic lilies. She secured the branches over the container then placed the lilies strategically.

Ironically, Lucy, who had brought in very big materials, was faced with vases and materials for miniature arrangements, provided by Nicole. She said she enjoyed making the miniatures and likened it to playing.

Lei's material was provided by Vicky. They were large, lichen covered branches, Oriental lilies in bud and nandina domestica nana. The container was a heavy, tall one made of reconstituted stone. Lei drilled holes in the branches and used a dowel to join them.

Lucy's large materials and container went to Vicky, who tends to make tall arrangements, so this was right up her ally. There were two, wooden triangles but Vicky used only one. The gymea leaves were very tall, as was the strelitzia stem, which had to be cut down for the arrangement.

I provided the materials and container for Cymbie. They were stachyurus, jonquils and alstroemeria psittacina leaves. The container has a split down the middle.

Wendy's curriculum theme was 'narcissus' from Book 5. In this lesson we take apart the leaves and flowers from the bulb and rearrange them with the flowers positioned lower than the leaves. We then create an arrangement with them. Wendy did so with several bulbs and, then, added spiraea thunbergii to complete it.

And, as a nod to spring, I leave you with this arrangement of camellias and Japanese flowering quince.

Bye for now,

Emily