On the first of the two hot days I mentioned in last week's posting, a couple of the flowers on the new Corymbia ficifolia in our garden opened. The approximately 1.5 metre tree was a carefully chosen gift, being a dwarf variety and not likely to cause any major problems in the future.
I had not expected the flowers to open so soon.
A week later and two more 40+ degree days resulted in the whole corymb (compound flower head) opening and seeming to glow in the late evening light. What makes this tree so striking is that the flowers are borne on the ends of the branches. As a result much of the canopy can be densely covered in flowers.
At the first classes for 2020 I set my students the exercise of making an ikebana work representing their 'Memories of Summer Holidays'. This year was especially memorable for the dreadful, extensive bushfires in south-eastern Australia that have made news headlines around the world.
Eugenia took on the theme of fire and its aftermath in this table-top installation. The black rectangle is a ceramic trough standing on its end. A single charred branch stands against the black trough with dried pine needles at the base. A small tuft of pale green grass at the base offers hope for renewal.
Margaret said that over this summer she had noticed quite a number of pink flowering plants in her garden that she had enjoyed seeing; and that was a surprise to her as pink is not a favourite colour. This simple-looking arrangement of one flower (not from her garden) and a few leaves turned out to be an exercise in the adage of 'less is more'. A significant amount of pruning and exclusion of other materials had to occur to reach this strong statement.
Jacqueline has just commenced the advanced part of the Sogetsu curriculum. Her exercise was to make a 'Vertical arrangement' in a suiban, in which there is a strong sense of upward movement. She has achieved this with some bullrushes and agapanthus flowers, some of which had the flowers removed. The space between the two groups of stems adds to the strength of the design.
Marisha's exercise was to make a massed ikebana arrangement that is contrasted with a single line. The mass is of Queen Anne's Lace Daucus carota, with white through to burgundy flowers. The latter flowers picking up the colour of the vessel. The flowers are contrasted with a long stem of a Dietes leaf. Marisha was delighted to use the small ceramic vessel that her husband had brought back from Japan.
On Wednesday last, my colleague and fellow Sogetsu teacher Helen Quarrell and I gave a one-hour Sogetsu ikebana presentation and demonstration for the Friends of the Geelong Botanic Gardens. We had the good fortune of being able to gather some materials from the garden, albeit under close supervision.
I could not resist taking this photo of Helen by this contorted trunk of a large and ancient Coastal Tea Tree, Leptospermum laevigatum. The Geelong Botanic Gardens are a hidden treasure located in a shallow depression within the greater Eastern Park.
Unfortunately, we were not sufficiently organised to take photos of all our work. Above is an ikebana arrangement I made using a branch from a dry climate tree with very strange, triangular, opposed leaves (and vicious thorns) plus the berries of Cordyline petiolaris. The black vase has two side openings.
The main subject of this ikebana is the flower and stems of Brachychiton acerifolius, which I have shown in previous postings (see Final Classes). This tree is especially spectacular because the flower stems have the same intense red as the small bell-shaped flowers. As a textural contrast to the multiple curving lines of the flower stem I have created a broad-surfaced mass using two aspidistra leaves. The bizen-style vase is by the Australian potter Ian Jones.
Greetings from Christopher
9th February 2020
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