ROADSIDE IKEBANA

In this part of the world summer seemed to end rather suddenly. Although autumn colours are not likely to be seen for some time, the weather is cooler. In spite of which we are still having some pleasant warm days and the blessing of rain.

This week I want to show you recent ikebana by some of my students.

I was really amused when Val created this playful work above. The subject for the class was 'Memories of summer holidays'. What she has created is a morimono (heaped things) ikebana arrangement which, in the Sogetsu curriculum, is made with fruit and/or vegetables. Flowers may be added, but should be minimal. The colours and fruit are particular to summer and the cheeky addition of sunglasses is a delightful touch.

For the students in my Melbourne class I set the subject of late-summer, early-autumn grasses; not however the traditional 'Seven Grasses of Summer'. I was more interested in the 'feel' of the season.

Helen N used three grasses in an unusual fish trap-shaped basket, with the addition of two small white flowers to brighten the ikebana.

Margaret used two grasses, a long stemmed mauve headed grass and a very fine grass. The latter was massed and has not photographed well because of the light back ground. To give the ikebana some zing she has added two stems of Crocosima with its fresh leaves.

Robyn used three grasses and two fine, small flowers to visually lighten the work. She set her ikebana in an interesting basket made from two interwoven palm inflorescences.

Eugenia created her ikebana in an interesting ceramic footed bowl with a deep aqua-green glaze. She used seven different grasses and a dry branch to give a sense of mass to the otherwise light materials.

Marcia made a simple ikebana in a contemporary black ceramic vessel using two types of grasses.

Also in the same class, Jacqueline's Sogetsu curriculum exercise was to make an ikebana with two seperate groups of materials. This style is known as a ka-bu-wa-ke.

In the Geelong class, Jo's exercise was a freestyle arrangement 'Using leaves only'. From her garden she gathered two huge rhubarb leaves for her main material. She was particularly interested in showing the underside of one leaf and contrasting it with the upper surface of the second leaf. To give these two large surfaces a dynamic feel she added some loops of agapanthus leaves on the right and a line extending on the left.

Tess has created an elegant flowing line in her ikebana with a small contrasting mass of dietes grandiflora. Her exercise was to practise using the 'cross-bar fixture'. I was particularly impressed with the result as the vase had pronounced ridges and an oval cross-section making the cross-bar technique especially difficult.

Greetings from Christopher
7th March 2020

On Tuesday I attended the monthly meeting of Ikebana International Melbourne, which was the 61st birthday of the Chapter. The theme of the meeting was Japanese Day with a focus on the kimono. Members were encouraged to create ikebana on that theme.

In my ikebana I arranged flowers from a cane- stemmed Begonia, Crocosmia and a single leaf of Dietes grandiflora in a black ceramic vase. In keeping with the theme I wrapped two obijime around the vase. These are the ties that are used to hold the obi (sash) around the waist on a woman's formal kimono. The obijime were given to me by Kazuko Suzuki, the wife of Minoru Suzuki - one of Laurie's former students from his year in Japan in 1978.

The advent of autumn in our garden has brought two particularly conspicuous plants from Southern Africa into bloom. Both of these plants grow from bulbs that are dormant over the summer, flowering at this time of year before their leaves appear. They survive well in our climate of dry summers when the rainfall is lowest.

The first of these to appear in our garden is the Belladonna lily Amaryllis belladonna. This is a plant that is seen in many places where there are remnants of an old farm garden that survives after the farmhouse has gone or is derelict.

The second is Haemanthus coccineus, which was a gift from a neighbour who successfully grew this plant from seed for us.

As you can see its short stem is very fleshy, as are the petals.

Another Southern African plant in our garden is this Strelitzia juncea. It is particularly notable for its minute leaves that are mere ridges along the ends of the stems, making them quite spear-like. It had passed its flowering peak and I have removed the spent flowers.

When removing the old flowers my attention was caught by the intense pink at the base of each flower. At their prime the flowers are striking because of the intense orange and deep blue of the stiff looking petals. As I looked at the flowers even the dried petals showed subtle beauty in their colouring and twisting lines. However, the pink was so intense I decided to focus on it for an ikebana. One of the characteristics of ikebana is to try to reveal some aspect of the materials that otherwise would not be immediately apparent to the casual observer.

I have stripped off the green covering of the stems in all but one case. Six flowers are carefully arranged in a triangular mass inside a large glass vase. They are seen from the 'back' to show the maximum amount of the pink colouring thus showing their beauty even though the flowers are finished.

More photos from the Melbourne Chapter meeting.

Greetings from Christopher
14th March 2020.

Thanks to Ròźa Marciniak for the photo of the Strelitzia ikebana.

My Torquay students attended their final class for this term in the week before last. The theme for the class was to make an ikebana arrangement using 'An everyday object' as the vessel. The 'everyday object', in this case, is something that can be found around the house. This is an exercise from the Sogetsu curriculum that challenges the students' preconceptions and requires them to take an imaginative approach to their ikebana. One of my suggestions to the students was that the 'everyday object' should be used in such a way that it did not simply look like an unusual vase.

Lovely ikebana was created, even though at times there was some amusement and laughter in the class room.

Marta used a cake tin and rack, a small bowl (obscured) and a pair of tongs to arrange a branch with a small mandarin and a stem of lemon with a single flower.

Val arranged three limes, a branch of acacia aphylla and some buds of anemome tomentosa. Her vessel is a teapot and lid.

Judy's quirky ikebana of nasturtium, marjoram and a lemon was arranged on a stainless steel lemon squeezer.

Kim's simple ikebana of two chrysanthemum flowers used two latex gloves and a nylon kitchen scourer as the vessel. He had to get creative when I rejected his handless cup as being too like a vase.

Marion arranged garlic chive flowers, a stem of vine and some bracken fern. Her vessel was a basket that is placed on its side showing the weaving of the base. This placement was to prevent the basket from looking too like the traditional use of a Japanese lacquered basket.

Helen T. arranged four Clivia leaves and a stem of Fuchsia with two pink flower buds. Her vessel was a galvanised metal watering can placed on its side.

Róża made a geometric arrangement using umbrella grasscyperus alternifolius in a highly colourful teapot.

Róża is a professional photographer who took the photograph of the 'finished'strelitzia flower-heads on last week's posting. At the same time I also re-worked the Bushy Yate ikebana I had made at the beginning of March, for her to photograph.

Above is the photo I took of the first version I made three weeks ago...

... and here is the second, studio-version Röża photographed. This time I reversed the principal branch to reduce the strongly curving line in the branch. I have also brought the separated flower buds further forward in a curving line. Röża has skilfully lit the ikebana. More of her photographic art can be seen by following this link, Geelong Photography.

Greetings from Christopher
22nd March 2020

8.30 am Saturday 28th 'social distancing' on the beach.

I didn't really need to stand on the rocks to avoid the crowds. It was just fun to watch the waves surging through the tunnels under these rocks.

I suppose in other parts of the world there may be other expressions for maintaining distance between people to prevent the transmission of the Covid-19 virus. We are now required to stay at home and not engage in unnecessary travel. Fortunately our home includes a garden. Exercise away from home, for example walking along the beach with members of one's household, is permitted.

Earlier in the week we noticed this Gang gang cockatoo feeding in a small tree by the side of the path. Compared to most other wild cockatoos they are surprisingly unafraid of humans and it is fairly easy to get a close-up photo of them.

I took this photo of one of the threeHaemanthus coccineus flowers in the garden ten days ago. My neighbour, who gave me this plant, is a skilled gardener. She grows further Haemanthus plants in pots from the seeds she gathers from the spent flowers.

This is the sight that greets you as you walk down the path beside her house. Very uplifting during the flowering season.

One of the plants from Canada and northeastern USA that delighted me, when I first came across it in 2014, was Golden RodSolidago. This particular patch above was in the Herbaceous Border of Royal Melbourne Botanic Garden and photographed at the end of January. So lush and exuberant looking.

This morning I photographed the more modest clump in our garden. This is its third season in the garden and it has flowered without being seriously battered by the dry heat of summer. As you can see, both Haemanthus and Solidago can survive in our garden. However, it is a struggle because of our hydrophobic sandy soil. They have shown me that they are tough plants and rewarding to grow. I decided a couple of days ago that I would use the Solidago as an ikebana subject.

I have created a freestyle ikebana using three flowering stems of Golden Rod. To emphasise the yellow of the flowers I have added two orangey leaf clusters of umbrella grass cyperus alternifolius, and one green cluster at the back. The radiating lines of the umbrella grass compliment the form of the creamy white spherical vessel. It is by the Tasmanian ceramic artist, Sallee Warner.

Finally a special 40th Birthday greeting to members of the Christchurch Branch of the Sogetsu School. I wish I could have been with you as planned.

Greetings from Christopher
29th March 2020

While we were having a mid-morning cup of tea today we were visited by a pair of Crimson rosellas.

They came into the garden to feed on the seeds of the Rosemary Salvia rosemarinus bushes.

These are adults, the plumage of juvenile birds is mostly green.

It was warm and sunny a couple of days ago, so we took our daily walk in the Ironbark Nature Reserve.

This view through the trees is on elevated ground and in the distance the sea is visible.

Further along the path, the conspicuous headland of Point Addis, about two kilometres away, was bathed in sunlight.

I was curious to see what wild flowers would be out as we are now into autumn.

This is a small patch of Common HeathEpacris impressa, the floral emblem of Victoria state. It can be anything from white through to a rich red.

Nearby was another bell-shaped flower, Correa reflexa. Correas are a favourite indigenous plant and we have a number in our garden.

Above is a particularly healthy looking bush in full flower that was beside the path.

In these days of physical distancing and our government's instruction to 'Stay at home' I have noticed that many ikebanists have taken to sharing their passion for ikebana and the botanical world on-line. I can only approve, having started my weekly blogging 9 years ago when I was in Tokyo as the third recipient of the Norman and Mary Sparnon Endowment scholarship.

In recent days I was pleased to receive these photos from two of my students.

Eugenia took this photo of a Dahlia beginning to open...

...... and here it is fully opened three days later. What rich colour.

Marisha created this freestyle slanting arrangement with garden 'prunings'.

In the garden at Torquay I had noticed a couple of late-forming pink Hydrangea flowers; and was pleased that the first came into full bloom before the onset of colder weather. On another bush, the old flowers had started to develop autumnal colour. I decided to use both in one ikebana because of the interesting contrast between the new and fading flowers. When I picked two of the old flowers I also noticed the leaves colouring beautifully.

I arranged the two fading flowers with the fresh pink one and a twisting Moonah Melaleuca lanceolata branch in a tall woodfired ceramic vase by Graeme Wilkie.

I was somewhat frustrated and dissatisfied with the result. It took a little while to realise my mistake. My original intention had been subverted because I was distracted by the beauty of the leaves. They were not the intended subject and the contrast between the two stages of the flowers had been diminished.

This is the second working of the materials. I think this ikebana is more harmonious and stronger. The contrast between the two stages of the flowers is much clearer.

Because I placed the ikebana in the niche in the living room it is seen through a wide angle. I have rotated the vase to show this view from the righthand side, which is usually the first view of the ikebana. The fresh new flower becomes the principal subject and the autumnal colouring of the other two flowers is revealed slowly. Usually, I think that to be successful ikebana should have only one principal subject, idea or focus.

My good wishes go especially to the members of the Wellington Branch in New Zealand where I would have been today had our circumstances not been changed by the Covid-19 virus.

Greetings from Christopher
4th April 2020

During the last couple of weeks we have had some days that were quite warm and dry. I have taken advantage of the weather to repaint the garden bench and the table on the terrace. Yesterday, I managed to paint a small deck at the back door before the rain that arrived overnight.

On one of the warmer mornings Laurie and I had a walk on the beach before breakfast. I took this photo of a rock pool in a cave that passes right through a large rock at the end of the beach. The water from the previous high tide was still dripping from the roof of the cave.

In the garden a Japanese Windflower anemone huphensis has flowered for the first time. It was a given to me by Margaret L., an ikebana colleague. The flower is very small probably because the soil is so poor and I planted it in the shade to protect it from the summer sun.

None the less, it looks charming like its common name.

One of the last Lorraine Lee roses to escape the ravages of the possums this year has just opened. Its survival can be attributed to being on the end of a long thin branch that could not support the weight of a possum. And the Albertine rose, which is being buried by a pandorea pandorana vine, has produced an out of season autumn flower.

I decided to use these flowers in a small arrangement on the dining table because their fragrance is so beautiful. By placing the small black egg-shaped vessel on a larger celadon platter, the soft pinks had a more suitable background than the wooden table surface. For the purpose of the photograph I have put a white card underneath the platter.

The Hydrangeas, which I have to grow in pots, have started to take on their autumn colouring. This one, above, has a large pink flower when it first comes out it then slowly goes green and then develops autumnal colouring. Last week I used one of the unexpectedly-late-forming fresh pink flower-heads with some of the fading flowers. Today I picked the last of the fresh pink flowerheads and arranged it with the blue-grey foliage of the Cootamundra Wattle Acacia baileyana.

I have created a horizontal ikebana with these materials in a large slab-construction vessel made with soft-pink marbled clay. The ikebana is dedicated to the memory of Doreen Schofield, a Sogetsu practitioner who studied with Norman Sparnon in the early days of his teaching in Melbourne. Doreen was an active member of Ikebana International Melbourne for 55 years and a committee member for 39 of those years. She donated many of her ikebana vessels to Ikebana International and the one shown was from her collection. The vessel was made by the New Zealand ceramicist Keith Blight.

Greetings from Christopher
11th April 2020

Early last summer we planted some new Correa bushes in an area of the garden that had become rather bare as older plants reached the end of their natural lives. These Correas are fairly small shrubs and make good ground covers under the partial shade of some larger trees. Although most of these are cultivars we are happy to have the new additions to our garden which also has indigenous Correas which are not bothered by our hydrophobic sandy soil.

The following photos show first the rather small bush, then the dainty bell-shaped flower belonging to that bush.

The protruding stamens from this flower create a colour contrast to the pink of the flower.

This bush has been planted by the garden path where it is filling in an empty space left by an earlier shrub.

The more open flower on this bush is the most open of the new plants and is less pendulous that the others, allowing the centre of the flower to be seen.

As you can see with this orangey-coloured flower, the inner side of the petals are much lighter.

The same is true of this pale pink flower...

...which also has reflected tips to the petals.

Now to ikebana. A month ago the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School held what has turned out to be the last meeting prior to the regulations against gatherings of people in groups. The theme of the meeting was the Sogetsu curriculum exercise of making ikebana 'Taking into account the shape of the vessel'.

Unfortunately our presenter Aileen was unable to attend the meeting and, at short notice, I had to do the demonstration. I was able to show photos of two examples that Aileen had prepared in advance which are on the Victorian Branch website, (16th March 2020).

My thinking about this was that the two most obvious options would be to contrast the ikebana with the shape of the vessel or to complement the shape of the vessel.

In my first demonstration example I have contrasted the round shape of the vessel with a geometric design of straight lines made with agapanthus stems. I used the spent flowers with seeds removed to create a focal point in the work. Using just green material has also contrasted strongly with the black of the vessel.

In my second demonstration I have complemented the strong curving lines of this unusual vessel. The banana and passion fruit emphasise the vessel by make curving lines that move in the opposite direction. I had actually tried to make the two dietes leaves curve the same way as the banana. However, they would not cooperate so I quickly changed my plan and followed the curve of the vessel.

I was particularly interested to see the ikebana by Akemi Suzuki, above. She took a different approach. She used a round red glass vessel with a closed top and a hole in the side. She arranged her materials to appear to be issuing out from the side of the vessel. This is yet another way of interpreting the theme: 'Taking into account the shape of the vessel"

Greetings from Christopher
19th April 2020

The subject of my ikebana today is from a small tree that is endemic to Western Australia, Hakea laurina. It is a very tough plant and is used as a garden ornamental in other states of Australia, as well as overseas. I have vivid memories of this Hakea growing in the play-ground when I was in primary school. Its most distinctive aspect is its red globular flower. The flowers have yellow pistols that extend beyond the red globe of the flower. Hence the common name 'Pincushion Hakea'. It can grow into a small tree of 3 - 5 metres.

This specimen is about 3 metres tall and has had lower branches removed so that it has developed a single trunk.

When the flowers start to form from the bud the yellow pistols curve back into the flower. I have observed this characteristic in Banksias and Grevilleas which are in the same family, Proteaceae. In this photo you can see that the lance-shaped leaves are flat and have a dull surface. They are also quite firm and have a leathery feel.

Here is a close-up of a fully opened flower. To my child's eyes it looked like a bomb burst or a firework exploding. Above this flower is one that is still developing and which is not in sharp focus.

The seed pod is like a very woody nut and often in small clusters.

This one has opened and ejected its seed. I have always been fascinated by the very flat surfaces when these seed split open. They are so smooth they almost look like they have been polished.

Here is today's ikebana on the Sogetsu curriculum theme: Using only one kind of material. In spite of the fact that the leaves are fairly stiff, they actually have created a strong sense of flowing movement to the ikebana. Below is the arrangement in the niche in the living room.

I was especially interested in contrasting the red of the flowers against the turquoise glaze of this modern ikebana vessel. In this final version I have added an extra flower in the group at the front.

The 'modern' ikebana vessel would have been made in the 1960s as there is a photo of one of the same design used by Norman Sparnon in his book: 'The Magic of Camelias' (page 134-5) that was published in 1968 *. The photo above was across a double page spread in the book. When scanned it resulted in the dark line through the middle of the image.

I acquired my vessel from one of Norman Sparnon's students, now a senior member of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School.

Greetings from Christopher
25th April 2020

* 'The Magic of Camelias'. Ure Smith Pty. Ltd. Sydney 1968

This last week we have gone from sunny autumn weather to winter. Yesterday the maximum here was 11 Celsius which to us feels pretty cold, especially when the wind and rain-showers are coming across the sea straight up from the south.

As we went for our daily walk my attention was caught by a large number of Galahs digging up grass roots outside my childhood family home.

They know nothing of 'social distancing' and were surprisingly unfazed by my taking this photograph at relatively close range.

The surfer in the water at the bottom of this photo had no trouble with the 'distancing' requirement being the only one in the water on the Torquay main beach. I really took the photo for the large swell with breaking waves much further out to sea.

At the beginning of the week I made a brief visit to Melbourne and had the opportunity to visit my ikebana mentor and friend, Kath.

I was delighted to see her ikebana of massed red dwarf nandina domesticaand two white Spathiphyliumflowers. The parallel lines of the flower stems contrast interestingly with the undulating mass of the nandina. Kath had made it specifically for ANZAC Day, which was the day before my visit.

Meanwhile back in 'isolation' at Torquay I spent some time making a lattice frame to support the longer stems of the Umbrella Grasscyperus alternifolius in the conservatory, which were hanging over adjacent plants and the deck. The process necessitated cutting out a lot of stems which I then used to make this week's ikebana.

I have created a strong, angular design of massed lines arising from the curves of a ceramic bowl. Contrasting with the straight lines are two masses of bright pink geranium flowers. The bowl is by Graeme Wilkie of Qdos gallery.

Here is the ikebana on a shelf in the entrance of our house.

The inspiration I had in mind as my starting point was this photo, above, from the old Sogetsu text book that I used in the early 2000s.The exercise it illustrates is making a 'surface made by the massing of lines'. This image is one of my all-time favourite examples of Sogetsu ikebana. It is so strong I find it easy to recall to my mind's eye and it does not loose its impact with the passage of time.

Greetings from Christopher

3rd May 2020

There are two varieties of ornamental grape vines, Vitis coignetiae, in our garden. Both grown for their beautiful fresh green leaves during the summer and their rich colouring in autumn. Neither of them like the soil in our garden, it being hydrophobic and alkaline. The consequence of this is that they struggle to grow well.

This first photo shows a smooth-leafed variety that I grew, initially, in the forlorn hope that it would shade the terrace. As you can see it colours to a beautiful claret-red.

This second ornamental grape has a thicker leaf with a beautifully textured surface. It colours to rich oranges and reds in autumn. I grew this plant to screen a wall and to use in ikebana.

A few weeks ago I noticed a couple of out-of-season flowers on the Broom bush which had striking angular lines which I wanted to use in an ikebana arrangement. I then thought to team them with a couple of the ornamental grape leaves. I have arranged them in an angularBizen vase by Hiroshi Toyofuku.

I set up the ikebana on the table as the late afternoon sun was still coming through some high windows, creating a pattern of light and shadows. When I noticed this I positioned the Broom flower on the left so that it was silhouetted against a small patch of light.

Here is the ikebana in the living room niche with an additional long-stemmed flower adding height to the arrangement.

A second plant in the 'grape' family (Vitaceae) that we have in the garden is Boston Ivy, Parthenocissus tricuspidata, which also colours beautifully in autumn.

Here it is towards the end of its glorious blaze of red just before the leaves fall.

This week's ikebana is a re-working of last week's material. I have changed the angle of the Umbrella Grass lines and used a different vessel. When I first created the surfaces with massed lines, I deliberately used two stems that had already started to yellow with age. Now, a week later, the process has extended to some other stems. I really like this tonal change and think it works especially well with the autumn theme. These beautiful leaves were what I originally had in mind when I began to make the structure last week.

Here is the arrangement on the shelf in the entrance. The shino-glazed ceramic bowl is by the New Zealand ceramic artist Elena Renker.

Greetings from Christopher
9th May 2020

A week ago there was a strong cold front that swept up from the Southern Ocean. It produced very cold weather for a couple of days and a large swell on the sea. I was really surprised to see the large volume of water that washed over the sand bar into Spring Creek at Torquay's surf beach, when there was a particularly high tide. The next three photos show a wave washing into the mouth of the creek that had been blocked for a couple of weeks by the sand bar.

The weather brought by the cold front had a distinct feeling of the coming winter. The autumn has been fairly mild with some extra rain, so there has been some out-of-season growth; and the autumn colours, such as they are, have been slow to develop. In our garden it is only a few exotic plants that develop autumn colour. None of the native plants, which are the majority in our garden, lose their leaves in winter.

This is a later-flowering scabiosa atropurpureathat I couldn't resist photographing this morning.

However, here is true autumn colouring on a small self-sown apple that caught my attention in the late afternoon sun yesterday afternoon.

This is a Pomegranate punica granatum that I have covered with a net so that the birds do not eat the bright red flowers which they mistake for berries. Unfortunately, the net also prevents insects from pollenating the flowers. So no fruit! Once it is big enough I will remove the net and see what happens. I am not optimistic.

The Hydrangea, that originally came from Laurie's family home, does colour beautifully and may feature in an ikebana if I get my timing right.

This Hydrangea flower, from Rosemary and David's garden, was late forming and as a consequence has been slow to colour. It may become quite a bit more red.

Here is a simple ikebana which is not strongly suggestive of autumn. However, it is an interesting combination of a delicate flower and a large leaf surface which provides a background for the curving stem of a hybrid Abelia, Abelia x grandiflora. The vessel is a small, shino-glazed, ceramic suiban.

In this Ikebana I have used the only large Hydrangea flower that survived last summer's hot days. The leaf is from a Strelitzia reginae plant and has a maroon central rib that matches the deeper reds in the flower.

This second photo shows the line and mass of the arrangement as well as the profile of the vessel more satisfactorily. The vase is by the USA ceramic artist Mark Bell from Maine.

Greetings from Christopher
17th May 2020

Wintry weather brought some fine rain yesterday.

I could not resist photographing this spider's web on the apricot tree. Earlier, I had gone into the garden to pick some ripening figs before the marauding possums got at them. While I was busily picking the figs I heard some fluttering around my head and was startled to find a parrot trying to send me away.

When I looked up there were six female King parrots parrots in the tree nibbling at the fruit. This photo shows four of them having retreated to the neighbour's verandah before they harassed me again.

Their beautiful green blended well with the fig leaves (The poor quality photo was taken with a mobile phone on zoom).

Later, as we took our daily walk, a crunching noise alerted us to this Gang Gang eating seeds from the gum nuts in a Eucalyptus over-hanging the foot path. The bright red feathers indicate that it is a male bird. Laurie took a video of the Gang Gang eating (below).

Next are some photos of 'ikebana at home' made by some of my students. The 'themes' are of their own choosing.

In a semi-circular suiban, Eugenia created an abstract design using a dried branch, two Billy Buttons, Craspedia, and some American Beauty Berry, Callicarpa americana.

Margaret created a massed ikebana arrangement of 'green materials only', using two monstera leaves and three green chrysanthemums.

Robyn and Helen N. jointly made this ikebana of wandering curving lines using eucalyptus bark. The vessel is bamboo bound with iron bands.

Two weeks ago I decided to make an ikebana using some spent flower stems of agapanthus. At that time there were some that had long stems and were still a lovely fresh green. This material is ideal for the Sogetsu curriculum exercise of 'emphasising lines at the base'. The idea is that the lines arising from the vessel should be 'clean' and not softened by the placement of flowers or foliage at the lip of the vessel. The focal point of the ikebana should be high and this will result in a strong appearance.

The vessel I decided to use was this one by the Canadian ceramic artist Leta Cormier. It is 22cm tall and sufficiently robust for a tall ikebana. Although I have used two kenzans, the length of the stems required a cross-bar to stop the tallest from falling against the left-hand side of of the vessel.

In this instance I have used a bamboo skewer that I pierced through two of the stems to hold them in the desired position.

This is the finished ikebana. I have taken care that the lines arise cleanly from the vessel and none of them are touching the sides. To create a focal point high in the arrangement I have added four bright yellow-orange dried agapanthus flower heads. None of the lines have been allowed to cross another, so the spaces between the stems are emphasised.

Greetings from Christopher
24th May 2020

This is a re-edited post. Those of you who receive Roadside Ikebana by email will probably only have seen the beginning of the post which was disrupted by my inclusion of a video of the Gang Gang. That has now been removed.

* * * * *

Wintry weather brought some fine rain yesterday.

Their beautiful green blended well with the fig leaves (The poor quality photo was taken with a mobile phone on zoom).

Later, as we took our daily walk, a crunching noise alerted us to this Gang Gang eating seeds from the gum nuts in a Eucalyptus over-hanging the foot path. The bright red feathers indicate that it is a male bird.

Next are some photos of 'ikebana at home' made by some of my students. The 'themes' are of their own choosing.

In a semi-circular suiban, Eugenia created an abstract design using a dried branch, two Billy Buttons, Craspedia, and some American Beauty Berry, Callicarpa americana.

Margaret created a massed ikebana arrangement of 'green materials only', using two monstera leaves and three green chrysanthemums.

In this instance I have used a bamboo skewer that I pierced through two of the stems to hold them in the desired position.

During the Covid-19 'stay at home' requirements, some of my students have been sending me photographs of their ikebana which they have created at home. It is gratifying that they are persisting with their practice, and also to see the subtle differences when the ikebana is made for a specific environment.

Marisha has made her ikebana on the theme of creating a surface using leaves.

Eugenia has made this ikebana using two Banksiaflowers on a single stem, which she found "...growing by the roadside, on the way home ...". She also said, "...I love how the two flowers are connected." Her Bizen vase is by Hiroshi Toyofuku.

Marcia has created an autumn ikebana using Crepe Myrtle and a dried palm inflorescence in a tall bamboo vessel.

* * * * *

We are now two days away from the official beginning of winter in the southern hemisphere and are expecting a cold change on Monday. Today has been warm, 18 degrees Celsius, but windy. When walking around the garden I have noticed that leaves of some exotic plants have coloured beautifully.

This is the ornamental grape over the terrace, which contrasts well with the green of the Lorraine Lee rose.

The apricot has been ravaged by possums and only the leaves on the lower branches remain. They have started to yellow before carpeting the ground below.

Last year I repotted this Ficus elasticainto a much larger pot. Two days ago I noticed some of the leaves had started to turn a bright yellow. I am not sure whether this is a result of neglect on my part or just natural ageing.

Given the late autumn season I thought they would make a good ikebana subject. The leaves are quite large and leathery in texture. I was thinking about how to arrange them, including as a freestanding sculptural form, but then decided to arrange them so that their edges would be only partially visible above the lip of the vessel. However, none of my ceramic vessels seemed to be suitable as the leaves were so wide and I was reluctant to cut them. Then I came across a glass trough and I realised that it would allow my original idea of the more or less parallel edges showing. Also I could show the whole surface of the leaves.

This is my first version, a one material ikebana. A couple of the leaf edges are showing above the lip of the vessel but also showing the surfaces which are visible within the vessel. The subtle colour variation creates an ikebana focussing on tonal variation.

Here is the final result of my experiment with these leaves. I have reduced the number of leaves so that the space at the bottom of the vessel shows and then introduced a new colour and form with some ripe figs which sit between the leaves.

Greetings from Christopher

30th May 2020

Over the last couple of weeks I have noticed some wildlife visitors to the garden. The beginning of summer has seen seeds forming on various plants that are particularly attractive to parrots.

This sulphur-crested cockatoo came to feast on the acacia baileyana seeds. Following my drastic pruning in the late autumn the tree has bounced back with dense leaf growth this spring as well as plenty of seed pods following the blossoming in winter. (The camera was on the wrong setting when I took the photograph, so it is not very sharp.)

Spike, the echidna, has been back in the garden a couple of times seeking out a meal of ants.

On this occasion I happened to surprise the echidna, which was fossicking in the mulch by the New Zealand flax. It responded rapidly, and characteristically, by partially burying itself in the soft ground. This manoeuvre makes the echidna unable to be attacked by would be predators as only its sharp spines are exposed.

The last end-of-year ikebana class for my Melbourne students was held at Julie's house. Again, each student made a celebratory ikebana arrangement in situ in the house or on the terrace.

On a glass side table Eugenia arranged some long-needle pine and a dried branch in an oval, Iwata glass, suiban. She added a spray of red baubles placed behind the pine needles as a bright focal point.

Margaret's ikebana had an elevated position, above eye level, on top of a set of shelves. Being seen from below significantly changed the placement of the materials which were, a dried branch, red grevillea, red anthurium and a stem of green hakea (I think) leaves.

Helen N created a simple ikebana in an iron vessel using an orange Day LilyHemerocallis, and massed Nandina berries. The location of her ikebana was on a very low ledge about 20 cms above the floor.

Marisha made a massed ikebana arrangement with a slanting line of red-tipped Melaleuca and bright pink Sweet William, Dianthus barbatus flowers. She used a contemporary translucent plastic side table against the wall below a staircase.

Jacqueline set her ikebana on a glass side table. She arranged three strelitzia leaves and a single stem of pink oriental lily in a white nageire vessel. Jacqueline carefully placed the flower stem so that the flower bud was partially enclosed by the concave leaf.

The next two photos are of ikebana placed on tables on the terrace. Because of the very bright sunlight and busy backgrounds the work was photographed against the surface of the table making the angle quite elevated.

Julie used a heavy bronze vessel in the shape of a bamboo basked. She arranged Smoke bush, Cotinus, leaves and flower heads with massed prunus cerasus fruit.

Marcia arranged pine, dried wood and a single yellow Asiatic lily Lilium auratum, in a matte black ceramic vessel.

As you can see, after making ikebana we shared a celebratory meal. Thanks to Julie for hosting the event and Eugenia for taking the photograph.

Greetings from Christopher
15th December 2019

Dear Reader,

If you are an automatic email recipient of this blog, you will have received a posting from last December. This mystery is probably a result of the "Blogger" system changing its software last week. I hope we do not have any further un-planned reappearances of past postings.

If you are new to this blog and would like to receive posts automatically, you can add your email in the box on the righthand side of the page. I do not have access to your email address, even if you make a comment on the blog. If you want to contact me directly my email address is: roadsideikebana@bigpond.com

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When a cold front comes in from the Southern Ocean we often see a large well-spaced swell, much loved by the surfers. The wide expanse of white water in the photo below gives an indication of the power of the waves.

In the garden, winter changes are beginning to appear. I have been watching the development of blossom buds on the Cootamundra Wattle, Acacia Baileyana, over the last few weeks.

The buds are beginning to enlarge and have become a lime green; another few weeks before they become soft masses of yellow gold.

By the front steps the Swan River Pea, now called Gastrolobium celsianum, from Western Australia has suddenly developed masses of these little red beaks. This is a very successful spreading 'ground cover' up to a metre high that is doing well in shade and sun.

I am finally having some success with the winter -flowering Jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum, which I have just learnt from Wikipedia, 'can be regarded as invasive (in some places) in Australia'.

My big surprise a couple of days ago was this bud of Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles. The shrub still has quite a number of leaves so I had not expected the buds just yet.

These plants are all part of the winter garden pleasures in this part of the world; which my students have been continuing to enjoy in the absence of classes, three of whom have sent me the photos below.

Tess created an autumn arrangement using branches of Cotoneaster with leaves that had coloured beautifully.

Eugenia added some brightly coloured strips of card to this arrangement of Asparagus fern in a contemporary black ikebana vessel.

Marcia sent me this photograph in early May. She arranged Japanese anenome (A.hupehensis) in an iron Japanese tea pot; the exercise theme being 'Using an every-day object as the vessel'.

When I was in Melbourne yesterday I took the opportunity to gather some small bare branches of Elm shoots that have a corky appearance in their early growth. I was particularly wanting to make an ikebana that expressed the feeling of winter.

Because the branches are dry material they do not need to be arranged inside the vase. I have used three short branching stems balanced across the top of the vase and added a single white Camellia. There is also a small bud to the right of the flower that may not be easy to see in the photo. The vase is by the late Japanese ceramic artist Shigeo Shiga, who came to Australia in 1966. More information about Shigeo Shiga is at this link: Australian Potters Marks.

Greetings from Christopher

7th June 2020

On the Victorian 'surfcoast' there are a lot of creative people, which has led our local government to promote an 'arts trail' for the last few years. In the time of physical distancing and our being encouraged to avoid communal gatherings some people have been creative, using strategies that remind me of guerrilla gardeners in suburban settings.

I was delighted to see this 'rainbow' of butterflies that appeared overnight on the fence of the RACV Torquay Resort, which includes the former Torquay Golf Links. I was impressed by the careful graduation of the colour transitions and the variation in the size of the butterflies.

More startling was this ephemeral sand sculpture that appeared on the beach last Tuesday morning. This photo shows about 30 % of its extent. (I had gone down to the beach, knowing that it was low tide, to take a photo for my brother.) The flowing patterns are mostly abstract. However, I noticed that one was in the form of a whale's tail fluke. These patterns are the work of the Sand Whisperers, a local couple whose ephemeral creations are also to be found through the blue link and elsewhere on the internet. Of course these art forms are very appealing to me as a practitioner of ikebana.

This photo from a different angle gives a better sense of the extent of the sculpture.

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In the meantime, my students have continued to create ikebana at home and send me their photos.

This ikebana by Marcia was made some weeks ago. She has arranged Dancing Lady orchid and purple Dalia, creating a work of 'Colours in Contrast'.

Eugenia created this simple ikebana responding the the unusual form of her Bizen vase with the twisting line of a succulent.

Ellie created a vertical ikebana two Peonies with three hydrangea leaves in a traditional ikebana vase.

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In the garden this week my task was to prune the hydrangeas. They were rather battered by the three 40C+ days we had in January and February.

I took this photo on the 18th January before the first really hot day.

Here is the same plant after pruning. As you can see I have saved one especially tall straight stem as it is particularly thick and it raises the height of the plant above the retaining wall where it sits. The hydrangea leaves had started to colour beautifully and in a different way, as beautiful as the first flowers of six months earlier. Ideal material for ikebana.

This is my single-material ikebana using leaves and stems but no flowers. The line to the left helps emphasise the space in the arrangement and the curving leaves also draw the eye back into the work. What is not apparent is the strong forward movement.

This side view shows that the leaf mass is composed of many stems carefully placed to make the most of the colour of the leaves. Also that the single line in fact projects well forward.

Here is the ikebana in the niche in the living room, where it caught the early morning sunlight. The bowl is by Graeme Wilkie of Qdos Gallery in Lorne.

Greetings from Christopher

14th June 2020.

During this time of Covid-19 restrictions Laurie and I have developed a pattern of a long daily walk, with the principal destination being a cafe where we have been able to buy a cup of coffee to take away. The route of our walk varies according to the weather, or just our whim.

Yesterday we crossed the boardwalk at the mouth of Spring Creek and noticed that the sand bar is only a few centimetres above the creek surface. In the photo above it is the thin brown line that separates the creek surface from the sea in the background. If we have more rain the sand bar will be breached and the creek will flow into the sea.

This view shows the board walk along the bank of the creek. In the distance it sweeps back across the full width of the creek.

In the last week our destination cafe has been allowed to have a small number of customers inside, after 'signing in' and observing distancing protocols. It is so pleasant to be able to sit down and to use ceramic cups again.

I laughed out loud with delight when the coffee arrived with our names written in the decorated froth on the coffee.

And now to ikebana and, first, some of my students' work.

Eugenia's exercise is an arrangement that, "incorporates Australian native material and exotic materials". I set this challenge to my students because it can be quite difficult for materials to work together if they are from very different climates. In this ikebana the line on the left is the central rib of a Monstera Deliciosa leaf which is native to Mexico and central America. The other materials are a variety of Kangaroo paw Angiozanthos and Acacia aphylla.

Marcia's exercise was to first create a freestanding 'sculpture' with some dry branches, for which she chose corky elm.

Then in a second step she has arranged that material in a vase with some fresh materials. In this case some white camellia.

The winter solstice has arrived and tonight will be the longest this year. With fewer flowers around, for some time I have been thinking to use some Costal Sword Sedge, Lepidosperma gladiatum to make an ikebana arrangement.

This is one of my favourite local materials. The leaves are long, tough and can be manipulated into beautiful curves. As they age they often colour into beautiful shades of orange before turning grey.

This is a flowerhead, which grows on a long stiff stalk that looks like a slightly thicker leaf.

I have arranged the leaves in a shallow ceramic bowl by Phil Elson. The asymmetric mass is set in a kenzan that is placed well to the left in the bowl. This placement creates a space where the water surface can be seen on the righthand side of the bowl. For a colour contrast I have added the surviving Hydrangea leaves from last week's ikebana. As this ikebana will last for at least a couple of weeks I am looking forward to re-working it for next weeks post.

Greetings from Christopher

21st June 2020

Last week I commented that if we get some more rain the creek at Torquay will wash through the sand bar.

Well that has not happened yet. Instead the waves at high tide were washing over the sand bar into the creek. That combined with the slow flow from up-stream has raised the level of the creek a little further.

The water surface was exceptionally still when I managed to take this photo of a cumulus cloud and its reflection in the late afternoon.

In the garden the first of the Cootamundra Wattle, Acacia Baileyana, blossom has started to open. I thought this would be a good material to use with the massed ikebana of curving lines that I included on last week's post.

This is how it looked last week.

For my first re-working of this ikebana I have added two loose curving lines. This 'opens up' the ikebana, allowing it to 'breathe' and creates a different feeling.

I then added a mass of Cootamundra blossom, creating a focal point. In Sogetsu terms this mass is called the hikae, which I have seen translated as 'achieving balance'. The hikae mass balances the movement of the asymmetrically placed principal lines.

The Costal Sword Sedge leaves, which are the main material of this ikebana, not only last well but also change. Over time the leaves develop autumnal colouring in the form of orangey stripes that contrast beautiful with their rich green. This colouring started to occur in some of the leaves in the five days since I did the first re-working with the Cootamundra Wattle.

Today I have changed the position of the kenzan so that the coloured leaves show better and have added some Dwarf Nandina Domestica, as well as a single upward curving line.

Greetings from Christopher

27th June 2020

Two weeks ago I thought the predicted rain would break through the sand bar at the mouth of Spring Creek.

This photo which I took back then made me think of an 'infinity' swimming pool. Nearly there but not quite.

However, it took an extra week for the water level to breach the sand bar. In the process, the outward flood created an 'S'- shaped flow and the metre-high sand cliffs that you can see.

The drop in the water level exposed large expanses of sand that had been covered by shallow water.

Further back up the creek in the freshly exposed mud flats this White-Faced Heron was using the opportunity to feed. In the foreground of this photo is what looks like a large concrete roller which has probably come from the Golf Links about 20 metres to the left, just out of the frame.

Now to ikebana.

Eugenia made the above ikebana on the theme of "using an every-day object as the vessel". Her vessel is a metal funnel that has been inverted. A dry branch has been inserted into the funnel and a piece of bark extends to the ground. Camellia leaves give the ikebana a feeling of freshness and life. In the photo Eugenia has also played with the effect of the slanting line of shadow on the wall.

Marcia made her ikebana using rose prunings from her new garden. The tall shin line of the bare branch which rises above the ceramic vessel is from the same bush as the single flower and mass of leaves.

The material for my ikebana this week went well beyond pruning. I had to completely remove the branches of a ground covering Bluebell Creeper, Billardiera heterophylla, which had died. This was planted about 30 years ago and as I removed the mass I realised that I had some very interesting ikebana material in my hands. In the photo above I had already started pruning so that I could refine and emphasise the principal lines. I am hoping the material will dry well for re-use in the future.

The width of the vine was a little over two metres. This created a small logistical problem for the purpose of taking a photograph. After moving a Buffet, then the dining table and chairs I had enough uncluttered wall space to site the Shigaraki vessel.

To ensure that the two sides of the ikebana look asymmetrical I have pruned the right hand side to a single zig-zagging line and kept many more fine lines on the left side. The fresh materials making up the mass are three Acanthus mollis leaves and four hydrangeas with autumnal colouring.

Greetings from Christopher, with best wishes to readers from Canada and the USA - whose respective national days are celebrated this week.

4th July 2020

SUMMER'S END

OBIJIME

AN EVERYDAY OBJECT

(almost) ALONE ON THE BEACH

FRESH AND FADING FLOWERS

AUTUMN PINK

A DIFFERENT APPROACH

PINCUSHION HAKEA

MAKING A SURFACE FROM STRAIGHT LINES

THE BEAUTY OF AGEING

SOME AUTUMN COLOURS

LINES AT THE BASE

LINES AT THE BASE (Mk II)

IKEBANA INCORPORATING FRUIT

LAST CLASSES FOR 2019, # 2

WINTER IKEBANA

WHEN FLOWERS ARE NOT NEEDED

LEAVES ONLY AT THE WINTER SOLSTICE

RINGING THE CHANGES

SOME PRUNED BRANCHES