Hello all,

This afternoon we attended the Sogetsu Victoria meeting and workshop. Christopher James led the workshop, demonstrating three different arrangements on the theme 'Glass Containers'.

I made the arrangement, above, using two, rectangular, glass containers. I created triangular shapes with umbrella grass stems and placed them inside and outside of the large container. In the smaller container I placed a small number of triangles and a small anthurium, creating depth in an otherwise flat looking arrangement.

The arrangement, below, was made by Lucy in this unusual, glass decanter, which has a pointed bottom designed to sit in a silver base, which holds it upright. However, it is much more interesting to use it lying down, allowing it to swing creating movement. Lucy used only dietes leaves, in and out of the container.

You may remember the arrangement, below left, from last week's post. I was quite pleased with it at the time. However, after two days and with the pernicious effect of gravity, the materials collapsed, below right.

Original arrangement

After two days

So, reminding myself of the old proverb about lemons and lemonade, I reworked the materials in a nageire container, allowing the droopy agave to be accommodated.

Final arrangement

At our recent Ikebana International monthly meeting our guest speaker was Debra Collett, above, who gave a very interesting and informative presentation on dahlias. She, also, very kindly, brought a large number and variety of dahlias, which were raffled at the end of our meeting. And, in case anyone is interested, The Dahlia Society of Victoria will hold their 2026 Show on Saturday 28th February and Sunday 1st March at the Mount Waverley Community Centre. I, for one, plan to go.

After Debra's presentation, my sister-in-law Toula demonstrated four, very creative arrangements featuring dahlias. The photographs, below, are of Toula and three of her arrangements, curtesy of Lei Wang.

Below is my arrangement using dahlias. I have a flat dish with holes across the centre of it, which I placed over a round suiban into which I placed kenzans. I particularly wanted to use my pinellia pedatisecta leaves with the three dahlias that survived in my garden.

Lucy, in her arrangement, below, used kiwi vine and a small golden elm branch with her dahlias in a cheeky, glass vase. The photograph is by Lei Wang.

Bye for now,

Emily

MASTERCLASS # 37

 

Hello all,

My anthurium plant has been doing very well in the bathroom, where it is not seen by anyone but me. I cut two of the flowers and looked around for other material to use with them. The agave was my first choice as it has very sculptural qualities that appeal to me.

As I was watering the garden, YET ONCE AGAIN, I noticed the umbrella grass, which is suffering from the lack of rain. My watering is just enough to keep my plants alive but not enough for them to thrive. I cut some of the stronger looking stems and played with them in this nageire container with three holes on each side. I had created this design so that I could use the last of my current, gloriosa lilies. I have more plants just coming up and I'm looking forward to seeing how they will develop so late in the season.

For our recent Masterclass I had provided all the participants with hawthorn branches with berries. I, also, gave them a variety of other materials and instructed them to use as much or as little of their materials to create their arrangement. They were to study the materials before selecting a container from the shelves.

In the arrangement, below, Lei chose not to use any of the hawthorn. The corky elm that I provided had leaves, which Lei stripped and then bent the branches to create the spider-like structure with it. She secured it in one of my self made containers and added two of her three agapanthus.

Midori, also, chose not to use the hawthorn but stripped most of the golden elm (Ulmus glabra 'Lutescens') branch of leaves and bent it to create a curved line. She kept the split in the container mostly clear and uncluttered, adding only a stem of Oriental lilies with two buds and some elm leaves in the other opening.

Angie, in her first Masterclass, created a naturalistic arrangement, using all three of the materials provided. She removed a number of side branches from the golden elm to reveal its sweeping lines.

Akemi, like Lei, stripped the corky elm of its leaves and created a roughly spherical shape enclosing the space created. She, also, stripped the hawthorn of leaves and placed them low, in and out of the structure. In the inner space she placed two Oriental lily buds. 

Jenny trimmed both the hawthorn and the golden elm branches leaving the long, curved stems of both. She placed them in the same direction, almost like a hanging shin, then added the hydrangeas and more, smaller elm and hawthorn branches. The container is a very heavy, reconstituted stone and ideal for the heavy materials.

Cym discovered how difficult it is to use a container with small openings, which will not allow a kenzan inside. She worked hard but managed to balance the materials very well. There was some discussion as to whether she should use a flower. I left the decision to her because the arrangement, in my opinion, looks complete as is. She chose to leave out the flower. 

Julie, also, removed the leaves from her hawthorn branch and placed it in the tall, ceramic container. She had a loquat branch, which she trimmed and placed in the opposite side of the container. The lily buds completed the arrangement.

Lucy chose to keep the leaves on her hawthorn branches. She used a container with a split down the middle, which can be helpful but, also, difficult to use because it can only hold water up to where the split begins. The white, fluffy material is probably a privet. The three lily buds were necessary for balance on such a large arrangement.

It was also Swann's first masterclass. She, too, chose a container that's difficult to use. Its large size demands large materials but the small opening makes this a challenge. Swann managed this by keeping the stripped, corky elm above the container and only placing the hawthorn and lilies into the opening to reach the water.

Bye for now,

Emily

9TH FEBRUARY, 2026

 

Hello all,

The arrangement, above, started with the three pineapple lilies (Eucomis comosa). I have them growing in a pot since they were given to me by my sister-in-law, Betty. They are quite lovely and have a pleasant fragrance though, I understand, that there are some varieties that have a very unpleasant fragrance. They are not easy to use because they can be a bit floppy, so I looked for other material that would help support the lilies. The dried strelitzia reginae leaf seemed ideal. I sprayed it to match the colour of the container and created a rather monochromatic arrangement.

The arrangement, below, started with a curved, agapanthus stem from which I had removed the flower. I wanted to connect the cut edge with something and this is what came to mind. The thick wire is copper and it was quite serendipitous that the curved stem of the crucifix orchid perfectly matched the curve of the agapanthus stem.

For the first class of the year I had instructed the students to make a freestyle arrangement. They arrived with materials and containers for what they planned to make. However, I wanted to challenge them so I asked them to move one place down, thus having to work with another person's materials and containers. There were a few subtle groans but they went ahead and created impressive arrangements.

Below is Nicole's arrangement, the materials and containers for which were provided by Vicky. They were crucifix orchids, agapanthus and kiwi vine in one glass and one ceramic container.

Below is Jenny's arrangement made with Lei's materials and container. Lei had already created the nest-like structure and brought along asparagus fern and swan flowers (gomphocarpus fruiticosa).

And Lei used Jenny's materials and container. The large, monstera deliciosa leaf was coloured yellow by the searing sun. The sunflowers suited the arrangement both in colour and strength.

Nicole had brought a big bunch of kangaroo paw (Anigozanthos) and some callistemon  stems. Vicky created a tall mass with the kangaroo paws and a smaller mass close to the container with the callistemon.

Lucy had Vicky's materials and quite tall container. The materials were dried fotinia branches, agapanthus with curved stems and dahlias.

Dianne's class theme was 'In a suiban without a Kenzan'. She used Siberian dogwood (cornus Siberica alba) and red hot pokers (Kniphofias).

Wendy's class theme was 'kakebana', which is an arrangement in a container hanging on a wall. Wendy chose a basket for her container and curved agapanthus, yellow dahlias and one aspidistra leaf.

I had set the same theme for Mary. She used a small, ceramic, wall container, in which she placed cascading wisteria, arum italicam pictum leaves, nandina domestica nana and tiger lilies (Lilium lancifolium).

Bye for now,

Emily

2ND FEBRUARY, 2026

 

Hello all,

Most of the arrangements in this post were made with materials that I had cut and brought inside to save them from being scorched by the excessive heat of last Tuesday.

The arrangement, above, started with the hydrangeas. I went outside and looked for inspiration for an arrangement, when I noticed the young strelitzia nicolai leaf. The shape was interesting and I was able to place the stem of the large hydrangea behind the stem of the leaf. The smaller hydrangea is in a water vial.

The arrangement, below, is quite self explanatory, except for the fact that I had curved the stems of the crucifix orchids by bending them when still soft and bendy.

Pinellia pedatidesta leaf and leek 
flower

Arisaema leaves and crucifix orchids

The container in the arrangement, below, is a piece of bamboo, which I had cut with a diagonal split.

Having cut more than a dozen gloriosa lilies, I looked for a way to use these gorgeous but short stemmed blooms. I used my bamboo container, creating a spiral design with them. The flower stems were in water vials as they would not have reached the water in that container.

Although the flowers were not in a true mass, I still felt that it needed a line. I found the piece of wisteria but, being sprayed black, it does not show well in the photo against the black background. I've included another photo against a light background where the wisteria is visible. 

A word of warning if you're thinking of using bamboo as a container. In my experience, when I have used water in bamboo, whether fresh or dry, the bamboo absorbs the water and expands. This results in it splitting. So, I now use a plastic or glass container inside the bamboo.

Crucifix orchids and hellebores leaf

You may remember the arrangement, below, made with arum italicum pictum berries. The berries were a combination of green and red but, a week later, they were all red.

When the arrangement had to be dismantled, I put the berries in the garden for the birds to eat.

Two days later

Back in the gardedn for the birds

Bye for now,

Emily

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY

 

Hello all,

I need to clarify something before I go on with my usual post. Some of you may have noticed that you didn't receive the usual email notification for the weekly post. You're not imagining it - I didn't get it either.

From what I can tell, this wasn't an issue with the post itself but with the email subscription system (the service that sends blog updates to your inbox). Occasionally, these services glitch - emails can be delayed, filtered into spam or promotions folders or not sent at all due to changes on the platform's end.

The email may have landed in your spam, junk or promotions folder.

If you rely on the email system and missed the most recent post, you can always check the blog directly.

Thanks so much for sticking around and for your patience when tech does what tech does.

The arrangement at the top of this post is in a large, ceramic container by Graham Wilke. Because of its size and weight, I use it infrequently. There are a number of streets in our area that have Corymbia ficifolia 'Red flowering Gum' planted on the nature strips. I would have to say they are my favourite native trees. I cut a small branch, having fought the myriad of bees and one, very disgruntled rainbow lorikeet. I used it with white hydrangeas and a piece of dried wood, which I felt, complemented the container.

Below is an arrangement that I had included in my previous post. Then I had used only one piece of dried wisteria but, seeing it every time I walked past, I felt the wisteria was too weak. So, I added another one and I now feel it is more balanced.

The photograph, below, is of a succulent, the name of which I don't know. It is growing under a tree and, in its effort to reach the sun, it grows very long and lanky. I cut these pieces and challenged myself to make something with them.

In the first arrangement I used the succulent on its own, relying on its long stem to create line and space in this modern, conical container. I didn't feel it needed flowers.

The second is loosely based on Variation No. 4 Hanging arrangement.  In this case I did use flowers - hydrangeas.

Below is a photograph of yet another incarnation of my hoops arrangement. This time I used leucadendrons for the flowers.

As you all know by now, I have masses of agapanthus. The two in the arrangement, below, are fascinating because they are only half open. I believe the cause is the very hot day we had last week, which dried up the exterior sheath and did not allow it to fully open as the flowers inside grew.

Mary made a freestyle arrangement, using NZ flax, which she shaped into 'birds' and added hydrangeas and umbrella grass stems in a ceramic suiban.

I am so dreading tomorrow. The temperature is predicted to be in the low to mid forties. Sam and I have been trying to protect as many of our plants as possible. We went to the extent of moving all the pots that can be moved into our store room under the house. All the old sheets are covering the hydrangeas and we're keeping our fingers crossed. Of course, I'll be out there with the hose for as long as I can tolerate the heat.

Bye for now,

Emily