RE-USING MATERIALS

 

Three weeks ago I showed a photo of the barrier I had made to protect the climbing Lorraine Lee rose from Possum predation.

I am pleased to report that, so far, it seems to have been successful. At last there are more flowers opening and more new growth that is free of Possum damage. I might yet have to further prune the adjacent Bay tree, Laurus nobilis, to prevent the possums from being able to leap into the rose. 

Earlier this year I was prompted by my student Christine, to buy a White Myrtle, Hypocalymma angustifolium, which was in stock in a local nursery. This small shrub comes from the south west of Western Australia. It is a delightful sight during its flowering season, having fine curving branches with dainty white to pink flowers at even intervals along the stems.

I had been surprised and pleased to note the formation of flower buds a few weeks ago which are now fully open on one of the two small shrubs that I have planted.

I first saw this plant in my sister-in-law, Kathleen's, garden four years ago. I was permitted to pick a generous bunch of stems and made this ikebana above, in 2018, to which I added a single pink camellia and three leaves of Dietes grandiflora.

Another gift from a student was a white camellia; from Marcia's new garden. As it was already in the garden when she moved house, she is not sure of its cultivar name. I think the flower is Camellia "Kamo-honnami", however I am not remotely an expert on Camellias. 

Even without a name this would be an exceptionally beautiful flower. I was delighted at how well it looked in my ikebana of re-used Kiwi vine, Actinidia deliciosa, (from Marta's garden). As you can see the vine has started to develop leaves after several weeks in water. There are also tiny flower buds forming; another surprise in store. 

About ten days ago I made this ikebana, also re-using the vine and other materials from the Sogetsu Branch Annual Exhibition  earlier in the month. It was my first experiment in a vessel I had bought at the exhibition. Experiment is a particularly appropriate word in this instance. To get to understand the piece, I began by exploring all the surfaces on which the vessel could be sat without falling over. I finally decided I liked this position having placed the vessel on its side. The result is that the flowers and fern leaf project forward. However, the vine actually curves backward, well beyond the 'back' of the vessel. I really liked the sense of the botanical materials emerging from the vessel.

The grey and olive green glazed vessel was made by the Victorian landscape and ceramic artist Mel Ogden.

Greetings from Christopher

25th September 2022

PANDOREA PANDORANA

Last week I posted photos from the Sogetsu School, Victorian Branch's Annual Exhibition which was held in conjunction with the Wa Ikebana Festival. I included a photo of my ikebana demonstration of the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. The other demonstrators made ikebana revealing the variety of the Sogetsu style and demonstrating different techniques.

Angeline Lo split one of the Strelitzia leaves to reveal the partially obscured orchids in her ikebana. This an example of "changing the appearance of the material".

Aileen Duke's spring ikebana was a demonstration of one of the fixing techniques used when arranging in a "tsubo" (spherical) vase. The technique is a way to stabilise the long branches that extend to each side of the ikebana,

As Susan Healey created this ikebana, she illustrated the importance of open space in ikebana by removing a large part of the branch on the left of this work. The ikebana has vibrancy because of the carefully controlled space between the two structural elements of the ikebana.

Lara Telford demonstrated the use of "unconventional material" (man-made) in ikebana. She used a branch with long curving lines that created a sculptural form. Having prepared the branch in advance Lara wrapped the lines with strands of variously coloured wool. Two leaves of fresh material were added to bring the ikebana to life. 

Last week I posted a photo of the second version of my ikebana. It included a main mass made with orange Ranunculus and blue Dutch Iris. 

The first version of the ikebana included wonga-vine, Pandorea pandorana, from the fence in our garden. This turned out to be unfortunate as the flowers dropped if the ikebana was even slightly touched. 

This is my original version of the ikebana which I preferred because of the colour harmony. Also, I think the cascading line of Pandorea flowers helps connect the elements of the vase and Birchwood structure. In retrospect, I think the Kiwi vine is redundant to the overall design. Such are the second thoughts that often occur the day after the completion of an ikebana.

Greetings from Christopher
17th September 2022

CONTRASTING FLOWERS

I was surprised by this lovely rural scene on the weekend. Surprised because it is in Studley Park, and only 4 kms from the Central Business District of Melbourne. 

The Yarra river was a little bit more muddy than usual because of recent spring rain. This section is the last couple of hundred metres of the river that is tidal. Around the next bend are Dights falls which are above the reach of the high tide.

The open pasture area here is part of the famous Collingwood Childrens' Farm. A wonderful place that brings the country to the city, enabling children (and adults) to learn about aspects of farming, animal and plant care.

As you can see from this photo the Community Farm is a genuinely working farm...

...and offers a range of interactive experiences for visitors.

These two lambs were incredibly cute playing together. They were not really interested in me and walked away as soon as I had taken this photo.

There were a large variety of birds including this Orphington Fowl, but also varieties of ducks and some Peacocks and Peahens.

The large vegetable garden included...

 

...this bed of Iceland poppies that were just beginning to flower.

I was at this site for the annual exhibition of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu school. It was held in conjunction with the Wa (harmony) Ikebana Festival. The exhibition took place in two of the rooms in the old Abbotsford Convent, now a community centre of "...art, culture and learning...".  

One of the additional features of the event was the inclusion a number of ceramic artists with work for sale in their stalls. Also a ceramic flower vessel competition was held with between 30 and 40 artists contributing their work.

As the Director of the Sogetsu Branch I was asked to participate in a demonstration of Sogetsu Ikebana.

Given this was an event open to the public I deliberately chose to make a "Basic Upright moribana" ikebana, which is the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. Most of the work in exhibitions is large, sometimes complex and quite technical in its construction. All demonstrators were allocated six minutes to complete their ikebana. I was concerned to show inexperienced viewers that with knowledge of the principles and a little practice ikebana can be made with very few materials and without spending a lot of money.

For the exhibition I created this ikebana incorporating a Birch wood sculpture and a single line of Kiwi vine, Actinidia deliciosa, The flower mass is made with Renunculus asiaticus and Dutch Iris, Iris X hollanica. The ceramic vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Graeme Wilkie.

To my northern hemisphere friends who usually read this blog with their morning coffee, my apologies for its lateness. It was a big weekend.

Greetings from Christopher

12th September 2022

WINTER-SPRING TRANSITION

 

In this part of the world we officially entered Spring last Thursday. However, the contrary weather has turned a bit cold and wet in recent days compared to the last few days of Winter. I have enjoyed seeing the evidence of the season's change in the garden. There is a feeling of hopefulness about this time when we experience a lifting of our spirits.

The more evenly spaced wet weather in recent months has been good for many plants in the garden. Among the Australian natives, this Cut-leaf daisy, Brachyscome multifida, has spread well this year and brings a splash of blue to the garden.

Under the adjacent trees the Running Postman, Kennedia prostrata, has also spread well and is flowering generously. This plant grows on the cliff tops and in nearby bushland. It seems to have responded well to the dappled shade and the slightly more moist environment provided by the leaf litter beneath the trees.

The Wonga Wonga vine, Pandorea pandorana, does not need encouragement, other than something on which to climb! It is flourishing on a side fence and has just begun to open its masses of springtime flowers.

This Aeonium, perhaps A. cuneatum, has flowered for the first time. Its large, intense greeny-yellow inflorescence is very striking in the garden and would make an excellent, dramatic ikebana subject.

Elsewhere in the garden the exotic plants are also responding to the change in the seasons.

I am living in hope that the protective barrier I have put around the Alister Clark climbing Lorraine Lee rose will continue to keep the possums at bay. The wooden frame was made from the remains of the pergola. I filled in the base of the frame with narrow strips of galvanised metal and hung a curtain of soft plastic to prevent the possums from climbing along the underside of the structure to get to the top.

This was the only flower low enough for me to photograph up close. 

One of the Osteospermum family, this South African Daisy is about to enter its time of full blooming. Like so many plants from Southern Africa it is especially suited to our climate. It has been a very useful ground cover in this area of the garden.

Also from Southern Africa comes the Freesia with its beautiful fragrance that I remember so well from my parents' garden in my childhood.

Here is the first of the flowers on the Forsythia that, to my surprise, is doing well. I think it must be a very robust as well as beautiful plant. (Thank you, Shirley! )

Finally, the wander around the garden ends with the first flower that opened on the Apricot. It looked quite wonderful when it was the only one open for a few days.

Some weeks earlier I had picked a couple of bare branches to use at the workshop given by Vernisher Wooh for the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School on 9th July. One of the branches was still in good condition when I attended Elizabeth Angell's class. The theme was the winter-spring transition. 

My student Margaret kindly gave me a couple of flowering stems of Prunus x cistena to add to my winter-bare apricot branch. I have set the two branches on opposite sides in the vase, showing the transition. The delicate pink flowers and bronze leaves of early spring harmonise well with the colour of the vase. This contrasts with the angular form of the apricot branch that suggests a blast of wintery wind.

The vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Jamie Beeston.

Greetings from Christopher

3rd September 2022