MAKING A MASS

The week before last saw wild weather and heavy storm damage in the east of Victoria. With large trees blown down over powerlines there are still many households without power. On the western side of Port Philip Bay there was little damage and much less rain.

However the wind from the south was ferocious. This view is from the Torquay surf beach looking west toward the cliffs of Jan Juc beach in the distance.

Bird Rock at Jan Juc was surrounded by white water.

  

A break in the clouds appeared as the sun was about to set. 

A few days later we visited our friends who have moved to Anglesea, the next township along the coast.

The scene could hardly have been more tranquil. This is Point Roadknight viewed from the lookout at Anglesea and photographed just as a late ray of sun lit the rocks on the point. I have always thought this very sheltered beach looks like something you would see in a children's book. 

Closer to the Anglesea river this Moonah tree, Melaleuca lanceolata, is a testament to the effects of the prevailing winds and nature's ability to adapt to the environmental conditions over time. Growing up in this coastal environment made me very conscious of the beauty of the flora, both large and small, to be found here.

Of course, we are also blessed with a considerable variety of birdlife. This Rainbow Lorikeet was feeding in an Olive tree in a front garden that we walked past. It is interesting that ,in this area, the variety of medium-sized birds in particular has increased over the last 60 years. What was once a bare sheep paddock is now a suburb with gardens dominated by Australian native plants (and a few exotics, like olives!).

Now to ikebana: 

Last week I mis-identified Maree's branch material as Cotoneaster. Freya has kindly and correctly identified the plant as Pyracantha, which has the evocative common name of Firethorn. 

This week I have been drawn to another prickly customer, Asparagus Fern, Asparagus aethiopicus. This plant is growing in our garden and had become entangled in netting over a small pomegranate. A branch broke off as I removed the netting and I thought I would use it in my ikebana.

Asparagus fern is often used by Ohara ikebanists to represent the ground in their traditional landscape style. As you can see, it grows in tight little tufts along grey stems, which have thorns. I wanted to use it to create a mass for my ikebana. When doing so with leafy material it is appropriate to manipulate it so that the stems do not show, thus concealing the lines of the stems. 

The mass I have created is dense and a beautiful rich deep green. It was necessary to cut the stems into shorter lengths so that they could be concealed and to make the mass an irregular form, not a smooth ball. The contrasting lines are Coastal Tea Tree, Leptospermum laevigatum, from our garden. Yet another plant that twists into beautiful forms. The ceramic vase has two side openings as well as one at the top.

Greetings from Christopher

20th June 2021