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