With Branches only

Making an arrangement using two or more kinds of branches only.
My classmates' criticism today was that my arrangement looked pretty at first glance, but then you discovered its shape, leaf size, and branch characteristics were too similar (I used a Snow fountain cherry and Red currant--both branches have berries, another one is Crape Myrtle). Now, I certainly understand that it's important to pick branches that contrast with one another, emphasizing their uniqueness. It's a good lesson. (5/18/10)

Iris Arrangement

April showers bring May flowers indeed! My teacher's email said to use Irises as the main part of today's arrangement. She also asked us to bring extra to share if we had a lot of irises in our garden. Gladly I brought some extra yellow and purple Japanese irises to class.
Irises and water usually relate well together. So I used my favorite Suiban. It is big enough to show water and to hold tall flower stems and leaf arrangements at the edge. I combined these with butterfly maple to add more grace and fullness.(5/18/10)

My classmate Mary's Iris arrangement, so beautiful and graceful!

Free Style Using Hosta Leaves

I think many people have Hostas in their garden because of their popularity and beautiful leaves. It's also a perennial! For today's class we had to use at least five Hosta leaves in our arrangement, along with other materials, to create a contemporary style. I had in mind this perfect container for my arrangement. So in class, I used yellow irises and Gaillardias combined with Hostas, but our teacher said it might be better just to use one kind of flower. So I rearranged it at home. It really stands out--the flowers match the container so well! (5/4/10)


This is my teacher's arrangement, very pretty.