WINTER WATTLES

I think that the most sensational of our winter flowers has to be the Cootamundra wattle; one of the many wattles that start flowering from this time of year. 

In our garden the most conspicuous is the Cootamundra Wattle * Acacia Baileyana. Cootamundra is the name of a town in southern New South Wales * where this wattle originates, and the name is derived from an aboriginal word.

This last week our Cootamundra wattle came to its peak, the view above is from the bathroom window.

The two photos above and below show how it looks from the outside.

Wattles are notoriously hard to keep as a cut flower, as they can dry and shrivel very quickly. I am pleased to report that I have had my best success to date, by following directions from a booklet produced by the Victorian Department of Agriculture, Institute of Plant Sciences. 'The Post Harvest Care of Cut Flowers' * compiled by Dr R Jones.

The process was to bring the branch straight in from the garden, re-cut the stem under water and then place it in a deep vessel (nageire vase) containing one litre of warm water (40 Celsius) with 10 mls of vinegar, a level teaspoon of sugar and few drops of bleach. The blossom I experimented with is still looking good after five days in a cool room.

 

The arrangement above did not last as long, only a couple of days, when I brought it into a warm room that had a heater on in the evening. The green ceramic suiban is by the Tasmanian potter John Campbell * who was active from the 1880's to the early part of the 20th century. It was given to me by my sister-in-law Libby.

I think the method described above, for treating wattle, would be worth trying for other woody stemmed plants.

Greetings from Christopher

31st July 2016

* Click on the blue text for further information

TROPICAL QUEENSLAND

During this week we spent a few days with some friends in Cairns * in the tropical north of Queensland. Usually this is the dry warm and sunny season; however it was overcast and drizzling every day and steamy, in the high 20s Centigrade. It was a dramatic change, coming back south. This morning's temperature in Torquay was 8C with cold winds and rain. I am not complaining, just contrasting. 

I think the joy for an ikebanist in the tropics is the lushness of growth and the extraordinary intensity of colour and range of form in the flora. One of the first plants to visually 'leap out' at me was the Lipstick Palm * (cyrtostachys renda). This example was in the median strip of a divided road...

           

as was this Cordyline fruiticosa * . 

During a walk through the Cairns Botanic Gardens I was amazed to see the copper colour on the underside of these huge leaves on a Pentagonia Wendlandii from Central America. I also found myself thinking about exercises in the Sogetsu Curriculum...

...including: 'Colours in contrast' and...

...' With leaves only'.

This photo is a close up of the trunk of a broad-leaved paper bark * (Melaleuca quinquenervia). The lines of colour have been exaggerated by visitors peeling fine strips of the tissue thin bark. It made me think about lines, as I mentioned in last week's posting, as well as the importance of varying texture in ikebana.

 

This large flower was growing directly from the trunk of the Panama Flame Tree * (brownea macrophylla).

I think this would have to be the largest pitcher plant that I have ever seen.

Above is one of the most extraordinary heliconia I have come across. Masses of large, hanging, multiple flowers. 

The conservatory contained unblemished exotic plants because the caterpillars of the indigenous butterflies that floated through the air are unable to feast on any of them.

      

     

    

Unfortunately this week's ikebana is not tropical.

I have arranged orange Asiatic lilies with some acanthus leaves and drift wood in a ceramic suiban  by the New Zealand potter, Elena Renka * . 

Greetings from Christopher, recently returned from Cairns.
23rd July 2016

* Click on the blue text for further information

VARIOUS LINES

I am surprised to see that the Swan River Pea (Gastrolobium celsianum) * in the garden is flowering earlier this year, and the Cootamundra Wattle (Acacia Baileyana) * is late.  It occurs to me that this may be a consequence of some rather heavy rains we have received early in Winter following a rather dry summer and Autumn.

The Swan River Pea, looks quite wonderful with the sun shining through its translucent beak-shaped flowers. 

The red Callistemon * has also suddenly flowered. I suspect it has done so because I pruned it rather hard about a month ago.

Nearby the Banksia Integrifolia * is also flowering. 

*          *          *          *

I have come to the conclusion that ikebana design starts with an appreciation of line, and once we have line we immediately create space; that is, the spaces on either side of the line or between lines. 

My first ikebana teacher always encouraged me to 'study the materials' and I find it is common for new students to comment on the fact that they find themselves looking at the world of nature with different eyes after only a few classes. So it was yesterday, as I sat having my lunch, I noticed the beautiful curving lines of the furled bud of a cyclamen flower. 

Lines are everywhere in the botanical world and each has its own qualities,which create a unique feeling when you stop to contemplate them.

In the class I attended this week, the exercise we were set was an arrangement using a variety of branch materials. At this time of year there is an opportunity to show the branch lines of deciduous trees. I have used apricot and fig tree branches and contrasted them with some Cootamundra Wattle. The latter picks up the grey of the fig rather well. The vase is by the Canadian, Sogetsu ikebanist and ceramic artist, Janet Keefe.

Those of you who know my teacher Elizabeth Angell will be pleased to learn that she has returned to teaching after a bout of ill health.

Greetings from Christopher
17th July 2016

* Click on the blue text for further information

SOGETSU INSPIRED SCULPTURE

Sofu Teshigahara, the founder of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, was an artist whose output encompassed a wide range of media. In addition to his ikebana works, using botanical materials, he also was an accomplished potter and a sculptor who worked with wood, stone, metal, found objects and mixed media.

For students of the Sogetsu school, working in a variety of media gives us a deeper understanding of artistic expression and encourages us to look beyond the surface appearance of materials, including those from the botanical realm. There is a very interesting 1/2 hour documentary of Sofu * on Youtube, that explores the range of his output and his approach as an artist and teacher. 

A week ago Emily Karanikolopoulos and her sister Lucy Papas lead a workshop for the local Sogetsu Branch on the topic: 'That which cannot be expressed by plants (by using inorganic materials only)'; an exercise in learning about sculpture, using principles we have learnt from our ikebana studies.

Above is an example of Emily's work, from last year's Sogetsu exhibition in Melbourne, emphasising strong geometry and surface texture.

This is my experiment from the workshop. I have used fine, square-meshed wire formed into two cones, one inverted against the other. I then looped some grey tubing so that it was spilling out from one of the cones. I really like the way the overlapping of the mesh creates an airy, rippling effect and is contrasted by the 

mass of the dark tubing coils.

More photos from the workshop * can be seen through this link.

I would like to draw attention to an exhibition Japanese Bamboo: baskets, sculpture and other artefacts * in the Pauline Gandel Gallery of Japanese Art at the National Gallery of Victoria. It is on for the next month only. Don't miss it if you are in Melbourne.

Greetings from Christopher

10th July 2016

* Click on the blue text for further information.

WINTER IN TORQUAY

Thank you to Margaret Hall and Gwen Delves for identifying last weeks photo of a Nankeen Kestrel * . It is good to know there are some serious birdwatchers among our ikebanists!

I am not intending to turn this blog into a regular report of our local fauna. However, I was really surprised to see a pelican wading in Spring Creek at Torquay on Thursday last. A unique sighting in this location. 

Apologies about the poor quality of the photos. They were taken on a mobile phone. 

Four weeks ago I posted the photo below of our apricot losing its autumn foliage.

               

Now the transition is complete and the tree is completely bare. However, there are a few flowers to be found in the garden. Unfortunately most of the Pincushion Hakea * ( H. Laurina) has been damaged by the rain. 

    

I found this one sheltered under a thick thatch of leaves.

         

Along the garden path the rosemary is flowering well and in a few weeks will provide a colour contrast to the Cootamundra Wattle (acacia baileyana) further up the path.

And one of my seasonal favourites, the red flowering, Japanese Quince (chaenomeles) has its first flowers for this winter. 

I am looking forward being able to arrange some stems in a few weeks when more flowers have come out.

This week's ikebana is a second re-working of the tortuous willow I used in the Sogetsu Exhibition in May. The willow is in a dimly-lit, unheated part of the house and has not grown any more leaves yet. I have added three very cool looking arum lilies for my winter arrangement.

Greetings from Christopher

3rd July 2016