CAMELLIAS AND BARE BRANCHES

 

Hello all,

Some of you may have noticed that this post is a day late. That's because we were without internet for 24 hours. We only become aware of just how depended we are on this service when we're deprived of it. Sam, who works from home was impacted dramatically. As for me, I decided to spend this beautiful, sunny day in the garden but, even that, was affected. I couldn't listen to my favourite radio program or Spotify, nor could I look up the phone number of the nursery I wanted to call with a gardening question. We were very relieved when the technician arrived and fixed it all. Phew!!!

At last class the advanced students were asked to make a freestyle arrangement using bare branches (fresh) and camellias. 

The two examples, above, were mine. The branch on the first one was growing from the root stock of my weeping elm. I'd been meaning to remove it for a very long time, so that, by the time I did, it had grown quite big. I trimmed it to shape it and, when I placed it on the table, it covered almost the whole surface. The camellias are from my aunty Elizabeth's garden.

The silver birch branches in the second arrangement were also from aunty's garden. The camellias are mine. I hadn't planned on making a second arrangement but, when I saw the bare tree with little catkins on the branches, I couldn't resist. And the container was ideal for them.

Jenny's magnolia branches and camelias in the pink tsubo vase were just delightful.

Nicole used pussy willow branches before the characteristic, fuzzy nubs appear and camellias in a ceramic container.

Having finished quickly, I asked her to make another one and encouraged her to get out of her comfort zone and make something less naturalistic. Below is the result.

Vicky used nectarine branches she found by the roadside, and placed them inside and outside of the ceramic container. Her vibrant camellias were placed to one side, leaving the left side of the container clear.

Lucy also made two arrangements. Below is her first using lichen covered, pear branches with her camellias in an ikenobo style container. Unfortunately the curve forward of the large branch is lost in the photo.

And her second - a newly acquired, wall container that she was keen to use. Again she used pear branches with her camellias.

Cymby concentrated on the curves of her Siberian dogwood branches and added a single camellia and its buds. The ceramic container has holes on either side but Cymby placed it with the narrow side facing the front.

Bredenia used corky elm branches outside of the ceramic container at the front and at the back as they don't need water. The camellias, of course, were in the container.

Like Lucy, Mary used lichen covered, pear branches. She secured them up-side-down in a heavy, ceramic suiban and added the camellias to the left, leaving space to the right of the container.

I feel I should point out that the simplicity of all of the arrangements belies the skill required to make them. Those of you who have used camellias will be familiar with the difficulties involved in placing them so that they face upwards or to the front and that the backs of the leaves are not shown.

Wendy's class theme was 'In a Suiban without a Kenzan'. She used magnolia, prunus and kutamandra wattle in a large ceramic suiban. She balanced them very well without having the branches resting against the edge of the container.

Bye for now,

Emily