SOGETSU EXHIBITION

 

Hello all,

It's been quite a busy couple of weeks, ikebana wise but I'm not complaining. There's nothing I enjoy more than creating ikebana.

As I had mentioned in my previous post, the Victorian Sogetsu group had its annual exhibition at the Abbotsford Convent last weekend. The arrangement, above, was my exhibit. I secured two wooden hoops in a heavy, ceramic container with a split down the middle. The branch is a dogwood, 'Cornus Norman Haddon'. It is just beginning to flower, so the flowers are still small but quite charming the way they sit up above the branch. Another charming feature of this plant is that the flowers start off creamy in colour but become pink as they age, so that at any time, there can be both pink and cream coloured flowers.

Below is Vicky's very simple but striking exhibit. She used the soft, central piece from an agave plant and some papyrus in a ceramic container.

Cymbie's arrangement, below, began with the making of the container. She Used a stripey bamboo cane and, with a weaving method, attached dietes leaves hanging down. The yellow heliconia was the focal point.

On Saturday, coinciding with our exhibition, a workshop had been organized and was presented by Master Instructor Ms Reito Oizumi, the theme for which was 'Working With Washi Paper'. Oizumi-san demonstrated ways that the washi paper can be treated, including scrunching, pleating, stripping etc. Below is the arrangement that she demonstrated using pleated washi paper, twisted willow and strelitzias reginae - flowers and leaves.

Below is my arrangement on the theme. I used stems of Siberian dogwood, Cornus Siberica alba', which I trimmed back leaving five 'V' shaped stems. I attached another stem on the top of each 'V' creating triangles. To those triangles I pasted pieces of the washi paper from the back, so that the stem framed the triangle at the front. I then placed the structure, in a forward slant, into a container with two openings. The Siberian iris completed the arrangement.

Side view showing the forward slant

The previous Tuesday was the scheduled Ikebana International workshop, for which I was the presenter. (I told you it's been a busy couple of weeks!) The theme for the workshop was 'Geometry in Ikebana'. This theme had been selected by Lucy. I was supposed to present another workshop in October and Lucy in November. But, due to surgical procedures for both of us, we swapped.

We use geometry in ikebana all the time by making shapes in lessons such as 'Repeating similar Shapes and Forms' or 'Paying attention to the Shape of the Container' but we don't call it geometry as such.

I had set up one arrangement before the meeting and demonstrated another three. Below is the first of these. It comprised of two fish bowls representing the geometric shape of a globe and two large gymea leaves, in and out of the container creating triangles. The brightly coloured, red hippeastrum flowers were donated by my sister-in-law, Betty.

Photo by Lei Wang

In the next arrangement I started with the two conical, metal containers and added two yellow strelitzias, 'Strelitzia Mandela's Gold'. I placed them in such a way as to create a diamond shape with the flower heads.

The lacquered red container in  the next arrangement was a gift from my sister, Lucy. She brought it back from Vietnam. It has an asymmetrical, geometric shape on its own. Then, I cut two monstera deliciosa leaves into triangles and placed them in the container using a kenzan. I added red, Altissimo roses and white alstroemeria flowers to be seen through the 'window' of the leaves.

For my final arrangement, I had brought along a cube shaped structure made with bamboo and secured it into a square shaped, ceramic container. I added a stem of Oriental lilies in the space created by the cube and a small mass of alstroemeria psittacina leaves at the base.

I leave you with a wall arrangement I made just for me, using smoke bush - cotinus Grace, and strelitzias reginae.

Bye for now,

Emily

SUPPLEMENTARY POST

 

Hello all,

I'm writing this post because I forgot to inform you, in my last post, of our upcoming, annual, Sogetsu exhibition. The details are as follows:

Venue: The Linen Room, Abbotsford Convent

Address: St Heliers St, Abbotsford

Dates: Saturday 15th November, 10am to 5pm 

           Sunday 16th November, 9.00am to 5pm

I hope to see you there.

Bye for now,

Emily

MASTERCLASS #36

 

Hello all,

For our recent Masterclass I provided all of us with the same branch material from a dying, photinia tree. As a tree, this is one of my least favourite. However, as a dead tree, with the leaves gone and covered with lichen, it has a very interesting form. This particular tree, which was in our neighbour's garden, was dying and, at a recent stormy episode, it fell onto the fence. Initially, I saw it as a problem but after  closer inspection I noticed the potential for ikebana. 

So, on a very wet, Saturday morning I got thoroughly drenched cutting branches for all of us. As well as a branch, I provided each student with two other materials. All different.

In my arrangement, above, I used the photinia branch, Siberian iris and hellebore leaves in a tall, glass vase. The colour of the iris is somewhat diminished in the photo. In reality it is a vibrant, Cadbury purple.

The most challenging part of using the branches was securing them to the container. We used a number of different mechanics to achieve that.

Below is Cymbie's arrangement. She worked very hard to achieve the seemingly simple arrangement in a container, which has a very small opening.

Vicky's branch was very big. She cut it and placed the two, uneven pieces on opposite sides. The mass of callistemons created colour and a focal point and the NZ flax, that was split in half and bent, created the lines.

Lucy chose a very challenging container and struggled to secure her branch inside one of the openings. She managed it, however, never one to give up and had the branch sweeping forward. One of Lucy's other elements was smoke bush (cotinus Grace). Sadly a little hard to see in the photo. Her third element was aloe vera flowers.

Akemi secured her branch over a spherical container then balanced two strelitzias reginae and aloe vera flowers.

Bredenia, also, managed to secure her branch over a ceramic, art deco style container, then added the Louisiana iris and iris leaves.

 And, before I sign off, I'll share with you a bit of fun I had with my Siberian iris. And yes, I did manipulate them. After all, what's life without a bit of whimsy!

Bye for now,

Emily

3RD NOVEMBER, 2025

 

Hello all,

Well, spring continues to delight me with an abundance of materials just begging to be picked and arranged. I know, I don't HAVE to arrange everything but I want to. All kidding aside, I do leave some flowering plants to just be enjoyed in the garden.

In our area there are a myriad of callistemon trees, all in glorious colour, which I could not resist. I cut some for the arrangement, above and added a large mass of the viburnum opulus flowers, which balanced in volume and contrasted in colour.

In the arrangement, below, I took advantage of the interesting shapes, which occurred naturally, of the strelitzias reginae. It's the weight of the flowerheads that cause the stem to bend creating a 'neck'. They merely required an appropriate container to showcase them.

In contrast, the ornithogulums in the arrangement, below, were shaped by me. I'm sure I have explained before how I do that but, for my newer readers, I'll explain it again. When the flower bud is quite soft and pliable, before it has had a chance to harden, I bend it and secure it somehow, either with a metal fork, or by tying it in place with some of the leaves of the plant. As it continues to grow, it naturally reaches for the sun, thus creating the curves.

I have had a fractious relationship with my wisteria from the very beginning. She has persistently disappointed me by being parsimonious with her flowering. This last winter I pruned her back very hard and she retaliated by producing only three flowers. She will be sorry because I went out and bought myself another one. This time a white Japanese variety. If the new one flowers better, the old one will go!

Anyway, I cut the measly, three racemes and made the wall arrangement, below, with my gorgeous, mollis azalea. (She is definitely in my good books).

The wisteria did not last very long, so I replaced it with stems from my viburnum opulus but kept the mollis azalea.

Then, the mollis azalea died and I replaced it with my favourite rose, the Altissimo.

In last week's post I featured my very first peony flower for the year. I was quite delighted with it and this week I have the second flower from the same plant. However, this second one is noticeably smaller than the first. Still, she's quite lovely. I placed her in a trough style container together with a stem from my kamo-hon-ami camellia. I, very reluctantly, pruned back my precious camellia because it was encroaching on the path which leads to Sam's office. He's been quite patient with me but he, finally, put his foot down. So I made a couple of arrangements with the cuttings. 

Below is the second arrangement. It is only one branch and, other than some judicial trimming and the removal of some leaves, I did nothing to it, just placed it in the container. I added some hippeastrum flowers which are just opening and some fragrant, Portuguese laurel racemes, which are also just staring to open.

Every year one or two of my hippeastrum stems are damaged, as per the photograph, below. I suspect snails. With so weakened a stem they are difficult to use. In this case I put a wire through the hollow stem to strengthen it and was able to use the flower.

I have a number of iris starting to burst into flower. The two in the arrangement, below are - on the left the flag/bearded iris and on the right the Louisiana iris. I arranged them in the traditional way in a large suiban.

Bye for now,

Emily

FERNY CREEK HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

 

Hello all,

Our recent Ikebana International workshop was held at the Ferny Creek Horticultural Society. First we were given a guided tour by a very knowledgeable Keith Ross and, then, we went indoors for lunch and a demonstration by Lucy Papas. The theme was a 'Floor Arrangement'. 

The arrangement, above, was created by Lucy before the demonstration. On a metal stand, she attached a large piece of bark and used it as a container. She added fan palms, white lilacs and kiwi vine.

The arrangement, below, was made in a tall, glass vase. Lucy used two very tall, gymea leaves and two strelitzias reginae.

In another large, wide container, made by Graham Wilke, Lucy used a heavy stick, aspidistra leaves and arum lilies, in an arrangement designed to be viewed from above.

For her fourth arrangement Lucy created an arrangement for a corner. She used gingko biloba and red dogwood (cornus siberica alba) branches and rhododendron flowers in a ceramic container. 

For my arrangement, I used a structure that I had created in the past. It was made using tortuous willow, from which I had stripped away the bark, leaving a smooth finish. I then joined a number of pieces to create a kind of cradle, into which I could place the tsubo vase. I used some of my clivias and alstroemeria psittacina leaves for mass, then added the yellow strelitzias reginae (strelitzia Mandela's gold). 

Jenny used a piece of contorted hazel (corylus avellana contorta), arum lilies and leucadendrons in a ceramic container.

Back home, I've been anxiously watching the progress of my newly acquired peony plant. During my absence it had developed not one but two buds! When the first one finally unfurled completely, it took my breathe away. It required a very simple arrangement, so I selected the trough type container and, looking around the studio, I noticed the kiwi vine which I had used many weeks before and which I had sprayed black, had produced leaves. So, I put the two together.

Sadly, it only lasted four days. Despite its ephemeral nature, I felt it was worth the cost and the effort to produce such a flower. I tell you, it was the size of an entre plate!

When it died, I replaced it with clematis flowers, which are only a little bit less spectacular than the peony.

Our regular class was much reduced in number mainly due to people travelling. I had set the theme of 'A Spring Arrangement', wanting to take advantage of all the gorgeous materials available.

Jenny used an azalea branch in bud for her main stem and a white waratah and an orange haemanthus lily (scadoxus multiflorus)

Nicole used cottage gladioli, rhododendron and dendrobium orchids in a ceramic container.

Cymbie's main branch was white lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora), to which she added Queen Ann's lace and a snapdragon peeking from the back.

Mary's arrangement comprised red dogwood (cornus siberica alba), clematis and purple lisianthus.

Bye for now,

Emily

 

Hello all,

Well, I'm home and, when I arrived after 6 weeks in hospital, I did not go inside, instead I hobbled around on my sore legs, inspecting my garden. Six weeks is a long time in a garden. There were plants that had already flowered and died but there were, also, many that were just flowering and I couldn't wait to get my hands on them to arrange. Over the next few days, whenever I felt able to, I cut some materials and made some simple arrangements to satisfy my need.

I used the first clematis, bromeliads and Dutch iris in the arrangement, above. In the one below I used rhododendron flowers in a self made container. 

My pink dogwood (cornus Florida rubra) is at its absolute best and I allowed myself only two stems, as it is still quite small.

I used one stem in the wall arrangement, below. I added three arum lilies in the metal container.

In the second arrangement I used a slanting branch of the dogwood and added snow ball flowers (vibernum opulus) in a squat, tsubo vase.

My white lilac is a small tree that appears to have reached the end of its life with branches breaking off and looking quite sad. I believe this is the reason that it has produced a greater number of flowers than before. It is the plant's way of ensuring its propagation when it senses its demise. 

In my arrangement, below, I used two stems with sharp angles, in a self made container.

The flag or bearded iris are also in flower and I enjoy arranging them in the traditional way. There are some strict rules regarding the placement of leaves and I like to practice arranging them each spring. We use a narrow kenzan and arrange the flowers and leaves in a row. In this case, because I had a number of flowers, I arranged them in two rows in a large suiban. I added pebbles and miniature, geranium leaves to complete the pond scene.

I was given some rather unusual euphorbia stems and I made a couple of arrangements with them. There is a real problem with using euphorbias because they bleed their sap from any cut, including the removal of leaves. Gloves must be worn when handling them, as they can irritate the skin. I scald the stems in boiling water to stop the bleeding and then I place them in the arrangement. 

I love the growth habit of the leaves in this particular cultivar and wanted to feature them. An example of using only one kind of material.

 

In the next arrangement, you have to imagine the sweeping forward of each stem because it is somewhat lost in the photo. I used bromeliad flowers in the centre.

Bye for now,

Emily