RED CORYMBIA FICIFOLIA

The corymbia in the garden has started to bloom again this summer. This particular one has bright red flowers. Others have pink, white or orange flowers.

I climbed the fence to photograph the top of the tree. It is not very tall yet! This is a section of the top which shows the small pink buds before opening on the left side, a fully open inflorescence on the top right, and some seedpods (gumnuts) at the bottom.

Here is a small group of open flowers in close-up. There were quite a number of bees gathering nectar from these flowers. I am surprised that none are visible in the photograph. 

Ever since it started flowering a number of weeks ago I had been thinking of using this lovely blossom as an ikebana subject.  

A couple of days ago I arranged two clusters of blossom in a dark Bizen vase, adding the tall curving lines of a bare Apricot branch. The side branch on the lower right, curves forward almost embracing the flower mass, unfortunately lost with the flattening effect of the photograph. The other branches seem to open up the space above the flowers.

Today being in the mid-thirties Celsius, I was certainly going to be spending most of my time indoors. In the relative cool of the early morning I had picked some flowers lest they wilt. Later, I decided to make another ikebana. Having started without a particular plan, the ikebana developed a summer look. In my mind the beach was being invoked because the principal element was a dried piece of Moonah Melaleuca lanceolata driftwood.

I chose a curving, square-section, rectangular vessel and found a way to secure it within the embrace of the driftwood. This position gave height to the ikebana and helped to support two upright flower stems of Dietes Grandiflora. On the left side I set several flowering stems of Crassula arborescens at an angle. The curving bottom of the vessel kept the ikebana stable even though the right side was elevated.

The maker of the vessel is the Victorian ceramicist Paul Davis. The photo below shows the curved shape of the vessel.

Greetings and best wishes 

for the New Year from,

Christopher.

5th January 2025