SUMMER COLOUR

The weather on the Surf Coast has been quite fickle; typical of Victoria, is the common view. On Christmas day and the week following, it was cool and wet. However, in the last week it seemed like summer had arrived. A welcome change for the holiday visitors who have come to Torquay to enjoy the beach.

The gardener's pleasure is to see the summer flowers. I recently replaced my possum barrier beneath the frame that supports the climbing Lorraine Lee rose. The new barrier is corrugated colour-bond edging and seems to be working well.

This is the most prolific flowering of this plant to date. Of course the rain has helped.  The potted Hydrangeas are also doing well.

This vivid pink one has only produced small flowers this year. 

Small flower size was not a problem for this particular vase/vessel. Laurie bought it for me when we visited the Kutani Kosen Kiln in Kanazawa last November. His specific comment was, "...this will be both your Christmas present and your next birthday present...". We both really liked the elegance of the design of this vessel. The kiln is a family-owned business. Interestingly, the current head of the family commented that his father made a number of these vessels about thirty years ago. This being one of the last remaining from that time. He also said that he could not reproduce the exact colour of this glaze as the recipe and details of the firing process were lost.

Vase or sake carafe?

Both!

I was happy with the colour contrast between the glaze and the Hydrangea. The small size of the vessel required a simple arrangement.

Also in the garden a couple of patches of Crassula arborescens, ...

...are looking their best. This one is partially shaded by the Apricot tree. Consequently, some of the flower stems are growing at a low angle.

When I brought some of the flowers inside I noticed how their orange matched some of the rather orange-ish tones in this Bizen vase. This was the other ceramic purchase by Laurie last November. This time at the Yakimono-World Fair and Exhibition in the grounds of Nagoya castle. It was made at the Gorobee Kiln in Okayama.

This was the start of my arranging the materials in the Bizen vase. The overall darkness of the vase makes it dominant and the flower mass look small.

I have made a loose mass with the flowers, trying to maximise the visibility of their orange colour. I then added some lines with the green strap-like leaves of Lomandra lingifolia. The leaves gave the ikebana some movement and created spaces which allowed the flowers to "breathe".

Greetings from Christopher

14th January 2024