MAGIC OF VEGTABLES

 

Hello all,

Our recent Ikebana International workshop was led by Lara Telford with the theme 'Magic of Vegetables'. She had one arrangement already set up when we arrived and demonstrated three others using special, retro containers from her collection.

I made the arrangement at the top of this post. I had arrived from our holiday the night before the workshop and had little time to shop for materials. I chose the leeks because I liked their geometrical form. I added the kiwi vine to contrast that form. I did attempt to add some colour with chilies or cherry tomatoes but, I felt, they were superfluous. 

I had, also, picked a bunch of Dutch carrots but didn't use them until after I came home from the meeting. Unfortunately, their green tops had wilted in the meantime, so, I replaced them with sprigs of parsley

Lucy's arrangement, below, comprised of one sweet potato and some xanthorrhoea grass on a slate container.

Jenny chose to use 5 different materials, forming a sculptural design in a ceramic, trough container.

In a previous post I mentioned that I planned to attend The Dahlia Society of Victoria 2026 Show. Well I did and I shopped!! I've been rewarded with some stunning blooms. The photo, below, is of Dahlia Ken's Gala, which I wanted to showcase in an arrangement.

At first I was pleased with the arrangement, below. However, looking at it from a teacher's point of view, I felt that the container dominated too much, when what I wanted was to showcase the flower...

...so I tried a couple of other iterations. The first with a NZ flax leaf and the second with a strelitzia reginae leaf split in half.

I have a curculigo plant in my garden which has taken up too much space and I wanted to reduce its spread to make room for other plants. The stems of this material, close to the roots, have a beautiful orange colour, which is not visible unless they are dug up. So, I challenged myself to make an arrangement with them. I picked a ceramic vase with a narrow split half way down one side, into which I wedged the leaves. The orange dahlias seemed ideal to pick up the colour of the curculigo. The leaves started to wilt by the next day, as they were not in water but I enjoyed the arrangement for as long as it lasted.

I leave you with the first of my camellias to flower and my favourite - the Kamo-Hon-Ami. A very simple arrangement in a basket with a sprig of pine.

Bye for now, 

Emily