TAMARISK and DUTCH IRIS, KABUWAKE

In my Melbourne class...

...Chen recently made his first freestyle ikebana. The branch material is Calistemon stripped of most leaves and the flower material is Californian Geranium Roldana petasitis. The design is a mass and line ikebana, with the line being the principal feature and the mass the subordinate. When I was processing this photograph I was astonished to find that I had unintentionally aligned the horizontal line on the vase with the back edge of the table top. 

I had set the senior students the task of making a spring-time ikebana incorporating metal. Aileen's botanical material was Jasmine and the metal, wire mesh. She folded the wire mesh to make a convoluted form that appeared to be floating. The mesh provided a framework that supported the very light vine. The lines in the mesh echoed the design on the small vase.

Eugenia used two pieces of welded reinforcing rods that she wired together to create a larger structure. They were secured to a triangular ceramic ikebana vase to which the botanical material was added. Eugenia chose Sea Holly Eryngium for its strong straight lines and angles that harmonised well with the metal and the vase.

Marisha chose a rather challenging metal material, aluminium foil. This material when spread out as a sheet does not have enough strength to support its own weight. However, with experimentation it proved to become self supporting when formed into a flattened cone and crushed slightly at its tip. Her botanical materials are small pink multi-headed Chrysanthemums and two rich pink roses.

My neighbour Margie, who is an excellent gardener, recently allowed me to cut some of the blue Dutch Irises Iris X hollandica growing in her garden. Her blooms were straight and tall. My single bloom this year was horizontal as were all the leaves. I have these bulbs growing in a trough and you would think I placed them in a wind tunnel. I need to find a much more sheltered position before next spring. 

I have also been keeping my eye on a couple of large bushes of Tamarisk Tamarix ramosissima, which had just started to flower. The irises and the tamarisk were two interestingly contrasting materials that I wanted to arrange together.

The number of branches and flower stems made me decide to use two kenzans when arranging them. This is the Kabuwake,(two groups) style, which is characterised by the creation of a space between the groups. I was particularly attracted to the tallest branch as it had a slight, rather angular, "S" bend; so I placed this stem first. The branch itself needed to be placed on the right-hand side so that its 'front' was facing forward.  While adding the second group, I had to pay attention to the created space as well as the overall balance of the ikebana. The irises provide a high focal point and harmonised with the blue suiban.

I took the above photo against a black backdrop as it seems to give a more accurate colour.

Here is the ikebana in the living room niche.

Greetings from Christopher
11th October 2025