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 scold 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