Signs of spring are well and truely with us, many exotic bushes are flowering profusely.
I was really surprised when I saw this large mauve-coloured Echium candicans cascading over a near by fence. The fence is about 1.8m high.
This other example, in another nearby garden, has bluish flowers.
In recent years I planted Red valerian, Valeriana ruber, in a small area of our garden. In this case, the pink variety. I find these flowers particularly useful for the flower element, when demonstrating the basic styles in the early part of the Sogetsu curriculum.
Also flowering profusely in our garden, and currently producing a blaze of yellow in the afternoon sun, is Scotch broom Cytisus scoparius. Its perfume is very strong, so the number of stems needs to be limited in ikebana.
At the last class with my Melbourne students I had set the exercise of "Taking into account the shape of the vessel".
Eugenia used a unique ceramic tetrahedronal-shaped vessel. In it she set a naturally-curved single Strelitzia flower stem and leaf from her own garden. The aperture of the vessel is very small but was able to hold the materials in these positions that suggest a strong movement.
Jacqueline used a blue-coloured metal vase that was extremely narrow front-to-back. She arranged two differently-coloured Asiatic Lilies Lilium. The tall straight lines of the pink lily reflect the vertical lines of the vase while the single curving line of the Clivia leaf contrasts with the vertical movement.
Marisha used two curving stems of branching Leucadendron to contrast with the straight cylindrical form of her vase. The fluted funnel form of the deep red Lily flower also contrasts with the form of the vase.
Marcia said she came across this S-shaped Iris stem in her garden and was pleased that it would complement the lip of her vessel. On the other hand, the straight stem of the Alium contrasts with the vessel.
This week I decided to make an ikebana demonstrating the harmony that can be achieved by using only materials that are adjacent, that is beside each other, on the colour wheel. In the English translation of the Sogetsu curriculum this idea has been rendered as: "Colours in the same tonal range". However, this creates some confusion as the word 'tone' in visual art, is used to mean the lightness or darkness of a single colour. More specifically the muting a colour by adding grey.
I started this ikebana with the small branch of Scotch Broom Cytisus scoparius, with its bright yellow flowers. In the middle is a mass made with Euphorbia, which is a lime-green and on the left are two leaves of deep green Acanthus mollis.
Greetings from Christopher
2nd Novwember 2025
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
