Wednesday, September 27, 2023

MWGC- Little Show - Anythings Goes

Today, September 27, is the first meeting of the new season for the MWGC. All little show and the Horticulture submissions have to be “live”. I brought in my little show arrangement “Anything Goes”- total freedom of design style. I made an arrangement yesterday using whatever is remaining in my garden, since it’s free style and anything goes! 

Materials: Hosta, Crape Myrtle seed pods, mum, Solomon seal and euonymus / ceramic vase 

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

Welcome to Our New Baby Grandson

My mind was busy with September’s class lessons (9/12/2023) and we were also worried about our daughter’s due date might be coming up any day? Surprisingly, she gave birth to a baby boy on 9/14/2023, five days earlier! We were so relieved and overjoyed!  Mother and baby are doing well and healthy.😊🙏

Celebration: Iris leaves, mum, sedum (autumn joy)

Dark blue gold rim ceramic vase 


Side view
Two big brothers met their baby brother for the
first time! Over joyed! 


Saturday, September 16, 2023

September Class Lesson (3) - Free Style

Lesson (3): Note- Freestyle using only materials from your garden, also bring some extra materials to share, especially for those who don’t have a garden… (9/12/2023)

My materials: curly willow, dahlia, snakeroot, house plant / ceramic vase. I didn’t use sweet autumn Clematis vine and pink turtle head, because the vine was no longer fresh!

My Arrangement 


Sensei’s arrangement 

Classmate’s arrangement 

Classmate’s arrangement (hydrangea)


Friday, September 15, 2023

Resume to Monthly Regular Basis - Basic upright style Moribana

The hot, busy summer has almost gone. We had few days of hot humid weather in early September, then a couple of thunderstorms brought heavy rain cooling down the temperatures. I clearly feel the autumn is in the air! 

Classes resumed at a monthly regular basis, starting in September. Hata Sensei told us about how important it is to learn and compare and contrast upright style, reversed, the variations, etc. So, in today’s lesson, we repeated practicing these lessons again until we mastered. Thence, these can help us when we do our creation of an arrangement. (9/12/2023)

Lesson 1): Upright Style Moribana,    Lesson 2): Upright Style Moribana reversed,   Lesson 3): Freestyle 

Azalea Branch, anemone / ceramic Suiban 




Climbing hydrangea Branch, dragonhead (false obedient plant)

Thursday, September 14, 2023

Sweet Autumn Clematis Vine

When I saw this sweet autumn clematis vine in the wooded area behind the doctor’s office. I was so delighted! It covered all the bushes, hundreds of tiny white flowers and fragrance.  I would just like to use it for my arrangement. Also I could practice a freestyle using this vine and your own garden flowers as a requirement and subject for up coming September class.

My garden flowers are pink turtle head and ornamental onion combined with sweet autumn clematis vine.

Orange sticks structure create a little contrast color (9/11/2023)

Lots of small white flowers go well with black ceramic container 



Pink turtle head plant 

Saturday, September 9, 2023

The Longest Heat Wave in the Record - End of Summer Arrangements

Traditionally, Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, as summer winds down, but the heat is picking up, we have the longest heat wave ever! As schools have just started, students have early dismissal due to the heat. But according to the weather forecast it will have a few thunderstorms for next couple days. It will cool down and bring a breath of autumn in the air finally!  (9/8/2023)

Using same materials for two different arrangements, because of two different containers. There are: Cattail grass, Japanese anemone, allium (ornamental onion) and another grass / ceramic container and wood container (2nd arrangement)




Saturday, September 2, 2023

Busy August and Two Hanging Style Arrangements

August passed quickly, busy when you have a lot of activity or events going on. Such as sending my first granddaughter off to USC (University of Southern California), my sister and her husband moved to Hawaii for retirement, and my youngest daughter is expecting for her third baby boy, and in need of a bigger home; so her family is moving from their Brooklyn apartment to their weekend house in upstate New York, Rhinebeck, for good, to be ready for the newcomer, her due date is on middle of September. Besides, four members of our family were born in August and our three children’s family were periodically coming home to see us during this summer vacation. All of this made us very busy and happy too.

Even though it’s been busy, I had made two arrangements using wild vine and morning glory vine, which were tangling to roadside bushes. For those materials, I used one tall bamboo basket to make two hanging style arrangements. The second container actually is the inner tube of bamboo basket. 

Crape Myrtle,  phlox and wild vine 


Morning glory vine, phlox (no flower)