SOME PRUNED BRANCHES

Two weeks ago I thought the predicted rain would break through the sand bar at the mouth of Spring Creek.

  

This photo which I took back then made me think of an 'infinity' swimming pool. Nearly there but not quite. 

However, it took an extra week for the water level to breach the sand bar. In the process, the outward flood created an 'S'- shaped flow and the metre-high sand cliffs that you can see.

The drop in the water level exposed large expanses of sand that had been covered by shallow water.

Further back up the creek in the freshly exposed mud flats this White-Faced Heron was using the opportunity to feed. In the foreground of this photo is what looks like a large concrete roller which has probably come from the Golf Links about 20 metres to the left, just out of the frame.

Now to ikebana. 

Eugenia made the above ikebana on the theme of "using an every-day object as the vessel". Her vessel is a metal funnel that has been inverted. A dry branch has been inserted into the funnel and a piece of bark extends to the ground. Camellia leaves give the ikebana a feeling of freshness and life. In the photo Eugenia has also played with the effect of the slanting line of shadow on the wall.

Marcia made her ikebana using rose prunings from her new garden. The tall shin line of the bare branch which rises above the ceramic vessel is from the same bush as the single flower and mass of leaves.

The material for my ikebana this week went well beyond pruning. I had to completely remove the branches of a ground covering Bluebell Creeper, Billardiera heterophylla, which had died. This was planted about 30 years ago and as I removed the mass I realised that I had some very interesting ikebana material in my hands. In the photo above I had already started pruning so that I could refine and emphasise the principal lines. I am hoping the material will dry well for re-use in the future. 

  

The width of the vine was a little over two metres. This created a small logistical problem for the purpose of taking a photograph. After moving a Buffet, then the dining table and chairs I had enough uncluttered wall space to site the Shigaraki vessel.

To ensure that the two sides of the ikebana look asymmetrical I have pruned the right hand side to a single zig-zagging line and kept many more fine lines on the left side. The fresh materials making up the mass are three Acanthus mollis leaves and four hydrangeas with autumnal colouring.

Greetings from Christopher, with best wishes to readers from Canada and the USA - whose respective national days are celebrated this week.

4th July 2020