BURSARIA SPINOSA

 

Yesterday when we returned home from shopping I was startled to come around the corner...

...only to find Spike at the top of the garden path fossicking for ants that nest under the bricks. It was a very warm day and I think that the water, in the saucers under the pot plants, were also a welcome resource for Spike.

One of the small trees in our garden is the native Bursaria spinosa, a handful of which we planted about 20 years ago. They have grown quite well to a height of five or six metres. Having been planted in a group they do not spread very much. The abundant panicles of their small white flowers are quite conspicuous at this time of year.

Not in our garden, this large example in the nearby creek is a good seven to eight metres tall and has quite a spread.

As an ikebana subject, one of the attractions of this plant is the zig-zaging that can occur on a branch as forking takes place. 

The other attraction to me is the mass of the flower panicle. It is an extra advantage to have such an attractive mass on the same plant. This week I made two ikebana arrangements that incorporate Bursaria.

The first of these has Scabiosa atropurpurea as its main subject. As I showed last week, this plant is growing profusely at the moment in one part of the garden and is a delight for its shades of white through pink to maroon. The very loose mass of mainly maroon flowers leaning to the right reflects the way the plant is easily blown by the wind. I have visually anchored the Scabiosa with a mass of Bursaria at the base then extended it slightly to the left as a counterbalance to right leaning lines. The bowl is by the ceramic artist Graeme Wilkie, of Qdos Studio in Lorne.

My second work is a single material ikebana using Bursaria only. The subject of this ikebana is the line of the principal branch on the righthand side. This particular branch had caught my attention a couple of weeks ago as it hung over a neighbour's fence above the footpath. The mass is separated from the main line by a space which is defined by a finer branch at almost the same angle as the principle line. The vase has two openings which dictate the width of the space between these two lines.

The vessel is a mid-20th century Japanese ikebana vase.

Greetings from Christopher
8th January 2023