CHRISTMAS EVE 2017

I could not resist this cartoon.

It is by the much loved Michael Leunig and featured on the back page of yesterday's 'The Age' newspaper. 

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Three weeks ago I showed a photo of some Xanthorrhoea plants growing along the clifftop path toward Bell's Beach. 

They have been kindly identified by Freya Headlam who volunteers with the Friends of Dandenong Valley Parklands. She suggested they '...could well be Xanthorrhoea minor, or Small Grass Tree, which grows in SA and NSW as well as Victoria.'  

Interestingly, the Dandenong Valley group of linked parklands includes Jells Park where there is a plaque beside a tree that was planted by the late Norman Sparnon. 

     

These photos were sent to me by Greg Schofield, the son of Doreen Schofield who is one of the Senior members of Ikebana International Melbourne and the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana.

Returning to the theme of my last two blog postings, below are photos from the final 2017 class of my Geelong-based students. This class was held at the home of Maureen and her husband John. The students brought seasonal materials for a Christmas celebration and were allocated a location that suited the nature of the materials. As it is Summer here in Australia, one of the most conspicuous plants in flower at the present is agapanthus, from southern Africa, which has naturalised and become an environmental weed in Victoria. (Gardeners are encouraged to remove the flower heads before seeds ripen and are spread by birds.)

    

This first arrangement was created by Alana. She has used one of Maureen's vases so that the ikebana could be left in place after the class. Alana emphasised the vertical lines of the agapanthus and contrasted them with the curving lines of a spray of dancing lady orchids.

Maureen created an ikebana arrangement with strong vertical lines. Her principal material was dried agapanthus which she had sprayed silver to match the vase. The blue and green of her secondary material, fresh agapanthus, provided a striking contrast.

Tess also used agapanthus as her principal material. She found these quirky-shaped buds in her garden and sprayed most of them silver. The secondary material, pine needles, were cut short and arranged in an upright mass. Her ceramic vase is a 'tear-drop' shaped vase from Japan that echoed the shape of the agapanthus buds.

Helen created a Christmas table-centre arrangement in a glass bowl. She has floated golden baubles and contrasted them with two strikingly bicoloured roses.

Ellie used pine, white roses and red berries. Her arrangement with sweeping lines was strongly asymmetric in an irregular ceramic vase.

Christine made an arrangement on a kitchen bench, 'to be viewed from all angles'. She used feathery grass-heads, casaurina and red and green flowers. The vessels are made from plastic icecream containers.

Two days ago was the Summer solstice in the southern hemisphere. I made this arrangement for a friend's birthday and felt the upward reach of the sky-blue agapanthus flowers represented the longest day of the year. I enjoyed using the subtly curving lines to make interesting spaces for the central mass of large flower-heads.

Greetings and best wishes from Christopher on Christmas Eve 2017

I think this cartoon sent by Amos (thank you) will particularly appeal to ikebanists.