6TH JANUARY, 2025

 

From Left to right - Shaneen, Lucy, Vicky, Nicole, Deb, Jenny,
Emily and Lei

Hello all,

The photograph, above, is of those of our class who were able to attend our Christmas break up lunch. We went to Harry's Cafe at McClelland Sculpture Park and Gallery. We enjoyed a very pleasant lunch (after the raucous people at the table next to us left) and exchanged Kris Kringle gifts. We, also, enjoyed visiting some of the various sculptures around the property including the Love Flower, for which McClelland is now its permanent home. You can view the Gallery's website by clicking on McClelland.

Our group with the Love Flower

Me with a sculpture by Geoffrey Bartlett

We've had a couple of scorching, hot days, which have kept me busy watering and protecting my precious plants. My water tanks were empty, which meant having to resort to mains water. Something I try to avoid. However, today we had good, steady rain, penetrating the soil and topping up my tanks. Just what we, gardeners, love.

In preparation for the heat I cut some materials that I feared would be damaged. The apricot rose and the pinellia pedatisecta leaf would have cooked in the heat but look lovely in my powder room.

I, also, rescued some of the tiger lilies, Lilium lancifolium. I found some lichen covered, pear branches under one of my trestle tables, which, I suspect, were left there by one of the students. So, now I had the flowers and the branches and was looking for a container. The one I chose is a recent gift from my cousin, Steve and his wife, Nieves, who has excellent taste and has given me some great containers over the years.

Sam and I recently reached a significant, milestone anniversary and celebrated by spending a couple of days at the Jackalope Hotel in the Mornington Peninsula. It was a short stay as that was all the time Sam could afford but we did get quite spoiled in that time. As a gardener, of course, I noticed all the plants around the property and was struck by the large number of woolly bush shrubs, Adenanthos sericeus. It is a native to Western Australia and is quite beautiful with its soft, woolly like foliage and lasts a very long time as a cut specimen.  I asked for and was given permission to cut some and couldn't wait to make an arrangement when I got home. I teamed it with agapanthus Queen Mum in a self made container.

You may remember the arrangement, below, left, from a recent blog. About two weeks after I'd made the arrangement, the bull rushes started to fluff up and had to be removed before disaster struck. If allowed, when the fluffy seeds are ready they explode and can make a real mess. I know this from past, painful experience. I then replaced the bull rushes with the more well behaved hydrangeas.

I'm not all that fond of eucalypts in ikebana but there are a couple of exceptions. One is Corymbia ficifolia, which produces clusters of brightly coloured flowers this time of year. There is a street in our neighbourhood lined with these gorgeous, small trees. I helped myself to a couple of stems from the lower part of a tree and contemplated how to arrange them. I decided that they needed no other material but an interesting container. A happy discovery was that the branches are bendable, so I was able to place them in a hanging style, without them springing back.

My friend and colleague, Christopher, has also featured this material in his current blog and, if you would like to read the information he provides, please go to Roadside Ikebana.

Bye for now,

Emily