FAUNA and FLORA

Recently, when I visited my brother's house, I was amazed to see a large number of welcome swallows flying about the house in the early evening. It had been a rather warm day and there were a lot of insects flying around. 

The sight took me back to my childhood as our house was named "Illabunda" ("the place of swallows"). This is a word from the Toongagi clan of the Dharuk people in the Sydney area of New South Wales. Indeed, there were many swallows to be seen around our house in the summer because there was a wetland across the road. These days the wetland has gone, replaced by a park. 

As you can see this small colony of swallows have made quite a number of their mud and grass nests. These particular nests are somewhat bottle-shaped, which I have never seen before. The mud must have come from different sources resulting in the colour banding you can see.

While on the fauna theme, I thought I would show you these photos of an echidna we saw in the Iron Bark Basin nature reserve last week.

The photo were taken on 'zoom' from a distance as I did not want to disturb this otherwise content creature.

The echidna finally crossed a boundary into private property, where it fossicked for ants in the rotting root of a dead tree.

The next series of photos are from the second last class back in late November of my Torquay students. I had set the exercise of contrasting a single line with a mass which they had to create. The point being that it is not acceptable to use a natural mass, such as a single large hydrangea flowerhead.

Helen T used a stem of Kangaroo Paw Angiozanthos and a mass of Jade Plant Crassula ovata.

Judy used a single stem of New Zealand Flax and some unidentified circular leaves that she massed on the flax.

Kim used a stem of agapanthus and made a mass by knotting bulrush leaves * .

Marion brought some large branches of Rosemary from which she made the mass and then trimmed a strong branch to make the single line.

Marta created a mass with some pink hollyhock flowers and then used a stem of Lamb's ear Stachys byzantina for her line.

Val used a strong line of Kangaroo Paw and some stems of Geraldton wax flower Chamelaucium unicatum for her mass. 

My own ikebana this week is a result of a belated picking of the one and only Iris flower that bloomed this year. I ought to have repotted it last winter and my failure has meant that the plant is undernourished and too crowded.

I decided to quickly arrange the single flower with some stems of lavender that I had pruned where it was encroaching on the path and some scabiosa atropurpurea. The ceramic vase is by Sallee Warner, a potter working in southern Tasmania.

Greetings from Christopher, and wishing you all the best for the new year 2020.

28th December 2019.

* Bulrush is known as Cattail in US and Japan. 

RESCUED FROM THE HEAT

Wednesday of last week was rather warm, in the mid 30's at Torquay. 

As we walked along the Front Beach I was really surprised to see a long band of rich pink in the water. It was an algal bloom being carried onto the beach by an easterly wind.

I have read about 'red tides', however this was the first time that I had seen one.

As the algae washed onto the beach the waves became pink and streaked with the colour. A newspaper report the following day advised avoiding contact with the algae because of the risk of skin irritation.

Two days later we had a single hot day right across the state and the maximum temperature in Torquay was 45.1 Celsius. This was the highest daily temperature ever recorded here. My thoughts go out to people in the other states where conditions have been much worse for a long time, and where bushfires are raging.

One day later, with a strong southerly wind, the temperature is now below 20C. The windsurfers were out in force at Point Danger making the most of the conditions.

In anticipation of the extreme heat on Friday I soaked the more vulnerable plants in the garden and picked five of the nine Acanthus mollis flower spikes that have grown this year. I usually miss the opportunity of creating ikebana with these flower spikes and was determined not to this year. I correctly judged that the remaining flowers would be crisped by Friday's expected heat. 

I arranged the long spikes with two dried artichoke flower heads. Because of the slant of the irregular box-shaped vessel I decided to continue the sense of movement by aligning the stems with its sloping sides. I used internal fixing techniques to support the stems at a slant without having them rest on the sides of the vessel.

The ikebana vessel is by Yutaka Nakamura from Echizen in Japan.

This year's Christmas tree was created with dried leaves from Ficus lyrata and F. elastica, that grow in the conservatory. I have painted the back of a couple of the leaves red and added some red and gold baubles.

Wishing you good health and all the best for the holiday season.

Greetings from Christopher

21st December 2019

LAST CLASSES FOR 2019, # 2

   

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed some wildlife visitors to the garden. The beginning of summer has seen seeds forming on various plants that are particularly attractive to parrots.

  

This sulphur-crested cockatoo came to feast on the acacia baileyana seeds. Following my drastic pruning in the late autumn the tree has bounced back with dense leaf growth this spring as well as plenty of seed pods following the blossoming in winter. (The camera was on the wrong setting when I took the photograph, so it is not very sharp.)

Spike, the echidna, has been back in the garden a couple of times seeking out a meal of ants.

On this occasion I happened to surprise the echidna, which was fossicking in the mulch by the New Zealand flax. It responded rapidly, and characteristically, by partially burying itself in the soft ground. This manoeuvre makes the echidna unable to be attacked by would be predators as only its sharp spines are exposed. 

The last end-of-year ikebana class for my Melbourne students was held at Julie's house. Again, each student made a celebratory ikebana arrangement in situ in the house or on the terrace. 

On a glass side table Eugenia arranged some long-needle pine and a dried branch in an oval, Iwata glass, suiban. She added a spray of red baubles placed behind the pine needles as a bright focal point. 

Margaret's ikebana had an elevated position, above eye level, on top of a set of shelves. Being seen from below significantly changed the placement of the materials which were, a dried branch, red grevillea, red anthurium and a stem of green hakea (I think) leaves.

Helen N created a simple ikebana in an iron vessel using an orange Day Lily Hemerocallis, and massed Nandina berries. The location of her ikebana was on a very low ledge about 20 cms above the floor.

Marisha made a massed ikebana arrangement with a slanting line of red-tipped Melaleuca and bright pink Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus flowers. She used a contemporary translucent plastic side table against the wall below a staircase.

Jacqueline set her ikebana on a glass side table. She arranged three strelitzia leaves and a single stem of pink oriental lily in a white nageire vessel. Jacqueline carefully placed the flower stem so that the flower bud was partially enclosed by the concave leaf.

The next two photos are of ikebana placed on tables on the terrace. Because of the very bright sunlight and busy backgrounds the work was photographed against the surface of the table making the angle quite elevated. 

Julie used a heavy bronze vessel in the shape of a bamboo basked. She arranged Smoke bush, Cotinus, leaves and flower heads with massed prunus cerasus fruit.

Marcia arranged pine, dried wood and a single yellow Asiatic lily Lilium auratum, in a matte black ceramic vessel.

As you can see, after making ikebana we shared a celebratory meal. Thanks to Julie for hosting the event and Eugenia for taking the photograph.

Greetings from Christopher 
15th December 2019

LAST CLASSES FOR 2019, # 1

For readers who receive this blog by email I need to correct the spelling in last weeks post heading, from 'Geeling' to 'Geelong'. It was picked up by my ever reliable editor and corrected a few hours later.

Over the past couple of weeks I have celebrated the end of the teaching year with the students from my classes. In each case we have met at a student's house, where the students have created ikebana in situ - adjusting their work to the challenges of the specific location. 

The locations were not chosen by the student but allocated either by drawing lots or of my choosing.  After making their ikebana we shared food and stories in the more informal atmosphere of the host's home. This week I will show photos from my Torquay and Geelong classes.

The first event took place in Val's house in Torquay.

Marion's location was in a narrow space beside a short staircase. She had brought long cascading branches of red Bottle-brush, Melaleuca viminalis, from her garden. Given the tight location and the long branches, Marion was encouraged to feed a couple of the branches through the uprights on the bannister. Marta generously lent some Melaleuca linarifolia for a white, textural contrast that provided a central mass.

Val's  ikebana was located against a floor-to-ceiling window in the living room. I have drawn the blind down to be able to take this photograph. She used Red Hot Pokers Kniphofia for their strong upright lines and a bright red geranium as a contrast.

Judy made this two-vessel arrangement using New Zealand Flax flowers and leaves, contrasted with yellow everlasting flowers and red pincushion proteas.

Helen T's location was a rather tight floor position at a the corner of a corridor. She made a slanting arrangement using two Norfolk Island Pine fronds with red and white geranium flowers as a Christmas-themed contrast.

Marta's ikebana was located in a wide but low space on the bathroom vanity. She created a two-vessel ikebana arrangement, using pine, melaleuca linarifolia and Celosia in the black vessel and a branch of Eucalyptus Lehmannii with dried seed pods in the white vessel.

Annie's location was on a purple desk top against a window. In a white ovoid vessel she arranged a single Clivia leaf, a stem of agapanthus with an unopened flower bud, some purple Tall Veberna, Verbena bonariensis, and a few Camellia leaves. 

Ròża location was a low side-table with a mirror situated above. She had the challenge of arranging two short stemmed (because prostrate growing) banksias with some curving maroon Flax leaves. She created colour harmony by using a copper-coloured metal suiban.

Kim had a difficult location on a small table against a window; difficult because his principal material was a very large dried branch of Moonah Melaleuca lanceolata. Beneath the curve of the branch Kim placed a small suiban in which he arranged white oriental lilies and arum lily leaves as though bursting from underneath.

The second class that day was for my Geelong students and was held at Maree's house. As this class included senior students, most of them also used unfamiliar vessels provided by Maree. Unfortunately, I was not quick enough to photograph all the ikebana works. However, below are examples of the students' work. 

Christine's location was on a vanity unit beside a glass shower screen. In a black suiban she arranged some onion flower heads that she had lightly sprayed with silver paint. These were teamed with a small sprig of pine and some vibrant red cactus flowers. The suiban projected slightly over the edge of the vanity surface. Although this is rather unorthodox I felt it looked quite alright in the context of the confined space.

Jo arranged her ikebana on the top of a chest of drawers. She chose a pale green glazed tsubo vase in which she arranged some stems of watsonia with new seed pods forming. Her floral focus was pink oriental lily flower buds. The arrangement was anchored by the final addition of a philodendron leaf.

Helen Q arranged the New Zealand Corokia cotoneaster as a foil to two heads of pink hydrangea. The work was on a carved chest in the entrance hall and seen from the right hand side as well as this view.

Ellie's location was on the top of a vintage treadle sewing machine. In an unusual iron vessel she arranged a branch of cypress, the flower cones of a leucadendron and a single chrysanthemum flower.

When I returned home after last week's Geelong Japanese Summer Festival, I re-worked my New Year's ikebana. This time, with the branch shortened, it is a variation number 4 in a ceramic cylinder made by Graeme Wilkie.

Greetings from Christopher

7th December 2019

GEELONG JAPANESE SUMMER FESTIVAL

In the warm weather on Friday afternoon we had a visitor to the garden. Our irregularly seen visiting Echidna was searching for ants that have nests under the brick paving on the terrace.

Man and Echidna, Laurie capturing the visit on his phone camera through the living room window. 

Because of the very poor eyesight of Echidnas you can easily observe them at close quarters if you keep still and do not cause vibrations through the ground.

It certainly must take a lot of ants to provide sufficient sustenance to keep this little creature alive. Since the drought in the early 2000s we have not had a lawn in our garden. Instead, we have large areas of mulch interspersed with ground cover plants. The result is an environment that is favourable to ants. 

On Saturday 30th November the Japanese Association of Geelong held its second Summer Festival, in which I and my senior students from the Geelong class were pleased to participate. There were a large range of activities and displays including: music, taiko drumming, martial arts, cosplay, handcrafts, traditional foods to eat, calligraphy classes and of course our ikebana and much more. 

Because such an event brings many visitors who are unfamiliar with ikebana, I set up this basic slanting arrangement using Plum branches and Snapdragon, Antirrhinum flowers. It is important that visitors see work that they can imagine creating in their own homes.

Ellie created this ikebana, using 'dried materials only', that worked as a freestanding sculpture and which did not need a vessel. The stripped wood has three Billy Button Craspedia flowers creating a geometric focal point.

In a tall stainless steel metal vase, Maureen created a line and mass ikebana using fine dried branches and focal point of red Alstroemeria flowers.

Christine made an ikebana on the theme of 'using fruiting branch' material. She has used a single lichen-encrusted branch from her lemon tree. The ceramic vessel is by Graeme Wilkie.

Ellie's second work is of 'dried and fresh' material using a bare branch with lichen and three Chrysanthemum flowers in a white ceramic vessel.

Helen Q. re-worked a mass and line ikebana that I had shown a couple of weeks ago. The materials are Smoke Bush Cotinus and Hydrangea. The almost black Japanese ceramic vase has an 'oil spot glaze'.

My second ikebana is a New Year arrangement of pine and white Chrysanthemum in a Shigaraki tea storage jar. I have added some red and white mizuhiki, the paper strings that are traditionally used on celebratory occasions.

Here is a link to a short video by Mr Ian Mac of the: Geelong Japanese Summer Festival, which Laurie says I should tell you includes a 2 second view of my back.

Greetings from Christopher
1st December 2019