INCORPORATING SMALL CHOPSTICK STRUCTURES

I was delighted to see this visitor to our garden today, a juvenile Kookaburra. It is only the second time I have seen one in our garden. About one kilometre away, further along the (intermittent) creek below our house, Kookaburras are commonly seen and, even more often, heard.

My Melbourne students recently completed the exercise of including in their ikebana a structure made with disposable Chopsticks (hashi in Japanese).

Aileen painted her structure blue to complement this unusual Japanese ikebana vase. She used white Freesias to create a small focal mass at the mouth of the vessel.

Eugenia was unable to find any disposable Chopsticks so she bought a small split bamboo table mat which she deconstructed. She then wired the individual lengths of bamboo into triangles and set them in her triangular vessel. Her botanical materials are fine-leafed Nandina and white Chrysanthemum flowers.

Jacqueline was unfamiliar with the exercise of wiring chopsticks into small structures. Being a creative and resourceful person, she devised her own method of creating two seperate structures. She did not break the chopstick pairs apart, but inserted the points into each other. She then created two structures, with three pairs of interlocked chopsticks in each, connecting them with a spiral of stiff green paper ribbon. Her botanical material was also white Chrysanthemum flowers. She used a Japanese footed trough-shaped vase.

In my ikebana this week I reused a Chopstick structure I had  previously made at a workshop in October 2018. On this occasion I positioned it horizontally in a ceramic vase so that it stretched to the right. I then added a single Aralia leaf at the mouth of the vase and a single branching stem of Dietes grandiflora inserted through the framework of the structure.

The vase, which was a gift to me, is by an as yet unidentified Australian ceramicist.

Greetings from Christopher

15th March 2026

AGAPANTHUS and CHRYSANTHEMUM

A couple of days ago I photographed this beautiful Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo munching on a pine cone as we were walking along the nearby creek path.

I am suspicious that the loud thump of a falling pine cone close to where we were standing was the result of a deliberately aimed projectile. I don't think it liked being stared at.

The following day there was a  pair of the cockatoos in the Banksia in our front garden. The bird is facing to the left and chewing on the seeds of a "cone" (which I have just learnt is an 'infructescence') that it is holding in its claw.

Last week I gave my senior Geelong students the exercise of "exchanging materials and vessels". This meant making an ikebana using an unfamiliar vessel with materials that had not been chosen with that vessel in mind.

Ellie had some branches of crabapple Malus, and some Hydrangea to arrange in a small suiban. Her final solution was to create an ikebana to be viewed from above. She set the Hydrangea toward one end of the vessel and floated a single flower and three Malus fruit on the surface of the water. When I took the photo the fruit had inconveniently floated up against the Hydrangea inflorescence.

Helen had a narrow square-fronted vessel which she angled away from the viewer. In the vessel she secured a tall branch of Grevillea and a mass of Clivia fruit.

Maureen's materials were Euphorbia (serpens, I think), two Lotus Nelumbonaceae, pods and a bunch of Grass tree Xanthorrhoea leaves. The hand-made ceramic vessel was quite challenging, having flat inwardly-sloping sides. However the result was successful.

Christine had been absent from class so she chose her own subject: making an ikebana in a clear glass vessel. She made three arrangements on this theme. This one was using a single Grevillea inflorescence in an irregularly-shaped vessel. This material almost sparkled when placed under the water.

For my ikebana this week I decided again to take advantage of my neighbour's Agapanthus flower stems that had gone to seed. After carefully removing all the seeds, I also removed the small dried remains of flowers that had fallen into the centre of the mass of spiky-looking small stems. After cutting the three stems to different heights I arranged their bases in a triangle in a kenzan, so that the tallest was at the back. The right hand one is the furthest forward of the three. I then set two disbud Chrysanthemums toward  the front with their growth points angled so that they are "talking to each other".

The bowl-shaped vessel is by the Australian ceramicist Isabella Wang.

Greetings from Christopher
8th March 2026

 

GLASS VESSELS

This week I set my Geelong students the task of making an ikebana incorporating a small structure made from chopsticks (hashi, in Japanese) that had been joined together. They had made these small sculptures previously, which I think is a good opportunity to practise wiring techniques. Disposable chopsticks are the most suitable to use as they are soft and the wire can be pulled tight to keep the structure rigid. It is also easy to paint them to change their colour in any subsequent re-use of the structure.

Ellie's structure was made from disposable chopsticks that were painted green. Her structure was the dominant element in her ikebana. She created a small focal mass with unripe, green Persimmon Diospyros kaki fruit. 

Helen created an ikebana in which the principle material was two variegated Aspidistra leaves, with a floral focus of Zinnia. Her dark red structure is made from bamboo kitchen skewers and has been designed to visually connect the elements of the ikebana.

Maureen's chopsticks were of the re-useable kind and therefore had a shiny lacquer-like surface. This meant they were not amenable to wiring because their hard surface is very slippery. She cleverly devised her own solution. By cutting decorated paper straws into short lengths she was able to join pairs of chopsticks and create a structure. The materials, Nandina berries and leaves, were harmonised by the use of red and black as the principal colours. On the left side is a pair of stainless steel rods that have been treated in the same manner as the chopsticks. 

Last Monday, the first meeting of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School for 2026 was held. I was asked to be the presenter of the workshop and given the theme of "Ikebana in a glass vessel". I decided to not restrict the topic to the advanced Sogetsu curriculum exercise on the same topic because it specifies paying attention to the transparency of glass. Many glass vessels are completely opaque and I wanted the members to be able to use whatever suitable glass objects they have in their collections.

This was a previously-prepared example of the exercise. The vase is hand-made by a Victorian glass artist. The vase is very opaque and the surface has subtle iridescent patches on its upper surface in particular.  The branch material is Bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum, which I had picked four days earlier. It was fresh the night before, but I found it had started to dry when I arrived at the meeting. In drying, the fern had developed some interesting curving lines. This called for a change of plan from my anticipated upright ikebana. With a little trimming to emphasise the curling lines, an impromptu slanting ikebana was made instead. The floral focus of the ikebana was two disbud Chrysanthemums. I also used a "stick" sculpture to assist with the positioning of the materials in the slippery glass vase. This sculpture had been an intense red previously, so I repainted its colour to pale gold to better harmonise with the vase.

I demonstrated the making of this modern style ikebana at the meeting. Using a cylinder of plain glass I began by cutting off the inflorescence of an Agapanthus A. praecox, that had finished flowering, and submerging it below the water level. Then I floated a small number of Cumquat fruit on the surface of the water. Lastly, I pushed the cumquats down into the vase with a second Agapanthus stem and held it in position by bending the stem to stand on the surface of the table.

I was thinking of this as playing with the geometry of the radiating green lines and orange spheres, as well as the bold line of the Agapanthus stem.  The clear glass cylinder almost completely filled with water made this possible.

Greetings from Christopher

1st March 2026

 

AUTUMNAL HYDRANGEAS and EMPHASISING WATER

This afternoon we had a walk in the Jarosite mine track, a nearby part of the discontinuous Great Otway National Park. This area is very exposed to the south west prevailing winds and close to the sea. As a result the trees, perhaps Brown stringybark Eucalyptus baxteri, on the ridges are very low. However, in the valley and more sheltered areas, Iron Bark Eucalyptus tricarpa trees grow tall and straight.

Along the path we came across a number of Mountain daisy Ixodia achillaeoides bushes in full flower. 

These dainty little flowers dry as the season continues, without loosing their form, rather like the everlasting "Paper daisies". It is a great privilege to have such easy access to bushland parks like this.

In class I set my students the task of making an ikebana which emphasised the water in their vessel.

Marcia used a low broad-bottomed, faceted, clear glass vase. 

In it she set some small Pomegranate fruit that were placed both inside and outside the vase. Leaves and flowers from the same bush were arranged at the mouth of the vase.

Eugenia used a conically-shaped vessel with a slightly-mottled black glaze on the inner surface. She set a single floret of Dwarf umbrella grass Cyperus alternifolius, on the edge of the vessel so that the leaves were reflected in the surface of the water. 

Marisha used a tall rectangular clear-glass vase in which she suspended a single purple Phalaenopsis orchid with the aid of a clear glass test tube. On the right hand side she set two leafy stems of the orchid.

Maureen achieved a similar dramatic arrangement with four small red Anthurium flowers in a clear glass cylinder. The flowers are set at different heights and attention is given to the spacing.

Ellie also arranged her materials below the water level in a clear glass vase. The red lines are a painted Corokia cotoneaster branch. Two focal points were created with the addition of small red and yellow Capsicum peppers. 

Helen set two long stems of Asparagus 'fern' Asparagus densiflorus across the water surface in a deep blue glass bowl. The flowers are a hybrid of Hydrangea macrophylla.

Coincidently, in my ikebana this week I used Hydrangeas from the garden. I had noticed that a number of the deep pink coloured flowers had started to fade, developing autumnal tones.

I was really quite fascinated to see this single pink flower among the autumnal ones on the inflorescence.

I decided to arrange three of these flower heads in this tall, traditional style, porcelain vase. The long stem stretching to the right is supported with a cross-bar fixture to maintain the line above the top of the vase.

Greetings from Christopher

22nd February 2026

RETURN TO CLASSES

In late January as I was walking through the Botanic Gardens Melbourne...

...I noticed these bright red leaves on a Bromeliad.

Two and a half weeks later it was in full flower.
.

I had first noticed this plant in 2022 and I caught the flowering at its most spectacular. This link takes you to my earlier posting. On that occasion I did not identify the plant, which I now believe is the Heart of flame Bromelia balansae. Before you rush out to acquire one, be aware its flowering is brief and apparently infrequent, in Botanic Gardens Melbourne at least.

This week marked the beginning of my ikebana classes in Geelong. As some new students have joined the class, I demonstrated making this Basic Upright moribana arrangement. Because of the flattening effect of the camera the branch on the left looks longer that it actually is in reality, so the proportions do not look correct in the photo. The materials are Italian buckthorn Rhamnus alaternus, and Leucadendron. 

I had set the senior students the exercise of making an ikebana using "summer materials".

Maureen used branchlets of Norfolk Island pine Araucaria heterophylla, and a double form of Tiger lily flowers Lilium.

Helen chose to represent the extreme heat we have experienced in Victoria this year.  Her materials are two stems of Agapanthus and some desiccated leaves. The  stem ot the Agapanthus which is leaning forward has been bleached by the sun. Helen commented that she was surprised that in spite of it being sun damaged, it was subsequently able to flower.

Ellie made a Mazezashi ikebana. That is, an ikebana using a variety of materials. Her materials included: Fennel Foeniculum vulgare, Lotus Nelumbo nucifera, Agapanthus, Rose, Cosmos, and a bright yellow New Zealand Flax Phormium tenax, leaf.

Maree's exercise was to make an ikebana in response to an art work. In this case she chose a work of the De Stijl artist Mondrian. She has used a modern acrylic vessel based on Mondrian's art. In the vessel Maree has set bunched green stems and a Lotus stem with pod. In the bottom right is a mass made with Dancing lady orchid Oncidium.

Jo's exercise was to practise her technique. She chose to make an abstract arrangement in a glass vessel with all the materials being placed below the water line. The materials are Cumquat fruit, Citrus hindsii and two inverted Agapanthus stems. 

Earlier in the week I attended this year's first meeting of Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter. The guest speaker was Debra Collett, a Dahlia and Floral Art judge as well as a grower of Dahlias.

Members were asked to make an ikebana using Dahlias. These are not a flower I can grow in the hydrophobic, low nutrient soil of our garden. Thus I had to buy some from a florist at the last moment. As I suspected, the available flowers looked like lollypops on a stick - which rather restricts their use in ikebana. So I decided I would place the two flower stems at a shallow angle so that they are "looking up at the sun". I have set them in a small bowl with one of the flowers partially hidden by a Fatsia japonica leaf. At the meeting I explained to members that this is an arrangement to be seen from above. It should be placed on a low table or on the floor.

The lustre-glazed vessel is by the Australian ceramicist Greg Daly.

Greeting from Christopher 

15th February 2026 

ANGEL WING BEGONIA

This beautiful Hyacinth orchid Dipodium punctatum, was right in front of our car parking spot in the Otway forest last week. It is an area of much higher rainfall than in our part of the coast where these orchids do not grow quite so tall.

In Melbourne last week my senior students' exercise was to make a "Summer" arrangement. No further explanation was provided, so as to give the students freedom of interpretation.

Eugenia chose a bare branch to represent the dryness of summer and placed two flower stems of Gloriosa Lily Gloriosa superba, to represent the hot colours of the season.

Marcia contrasted the straight stems of three white Agapanthus A. praecox, with the circular form of four Dahlia flowers

Jacqueline also chose a dry branch, which she hung from a tall cylinder. Two Dahlias with an orange flush captured the feel of the summer sun with the fresh contrast of two unidentified green leaves. 

Aileen used a drying mass of Xanthorrhoea leaves expressing the dryness of the north wind. A single line of Passion fruit vine Passiflora edulis, gave a feeling of freshness and was wound around the end of the Xanthorrhoea leaves. A single passion fruit sits on the lowest ledge of the vase.

In my ikebana this week, I decided to pay attention to an Angel Wing Begonia growing in the conservatory.

The pale pink flowers of this plant are very delicate and grow in pendulous clusters on the underside of the branches. The underside of the leaf is maroon while the upper surface is green with silver spots. This strong variation of the positive and negative side of the leaves ("in" and "yo" respectively in Japanese), effectively produced two ways to view the ikebana which was made with two branches.

This is the negative version showing the underside of the leaves. Its particular virtue is that it highlights the flowers.

The positive version shows the upper side of the leaves, with the flowers being partially hidden. I particularly liked the gentle curving line and upward movement of this line.

The spherical vase is by the late Australian ceramicist Barry Singleton who died in June 2024.

Greetings from Christopher

8th February 2026

 

HORIZONTAL IKEBANA

Our summer weather continues to be somewhat more mild on the coast compared to further inland in Victoria. After posting photos last week of the beach,...

...my friend Leonora sent me this photo from her Ottawa apartment window a few days ago. I think I can make out at least two people walking or skating on the Rideau Canal in the middle of the photo. What I notice first in such winter photos is the absence of green. Whereas our winter is the season of green. Driving to Melbourne, or through the countryside, I am now noticing the yellow of dried grass and crops. Fortunately there is also the relief of green trees. However, bushfires are burning around the state and we need to be vigilant.

 

Two days ago, as we walked up to our local cafe, we saw this echidna walking across the road. I was not fast enough to take a photo while it was still on the road. We were pleased to see the car driver stopping until the echidna got to the verge...

 

... where it began seeking for ants to eat.

  

In the garden the Crassula arborescens is flowering, in spite of being invaded by a weedy grass that I did not get to early in the growing season.

Also, the Hydrangeas H. macrophylla are doing well this season. I learnt my lesson last summer. I had pruned the pale pink one back hard, mostly to the old wood, and only had a couple of flowers as a result. This past winter I only pruned back on the new wood,

I decided it would be interesting to arrange these two plants from very different environments, the Cape of South Africa and Japan respectively. 

I liked the idea of combining the pale-pink and orange flowers. By placing deep-green Hydrangea leaves behind the pink flowers they were effectively silhouetted, emphasising their outline. The dark-red slip-cast vase allowed me to make an asymmetrical horizontal design.

Greetings from Christopher

1st February 2026