Thursday, September 10, 2020

Wild Sweet Autumn Vine Arrangement - Naturalistic Forms

This wild flowering vine looks like Jasmine, but it is Clematis Paniculata Sweet Autumn vine with pretty tiny white flowers, in full bloom now. Occasionally we can spot them in the wild while my husband and I take a walk alongside the park.
Also, a piece of tree trunk bark which I found and saved for future use. Now is the time to use it with the new found wild flowering vine to make an arrangement. They suited well together, showing naturalistic forms! 
Two cup kenzan and water tube inside the tree bark
about two feet long

Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Sweet Pea Arrangements Using Variety of Containers

Sweet pea is one of my favorite Summer flowers. It’s a hardy perennial, commonly known as Everlasting Pea which is a vigorous climbing perennial.
Only one kind of material: Sweet Peas
For container: 
1) Large champagne glass, showing water
2) Ceramic container placed behind the twigs frame, showing naturalistic forms

                      

Saturday, September 5, 2020

Tree Bark Container

This particular piece of bark I found it from a fallen tree in the park. It’s kind of fragile, I carefully cleaned it up. I have been keeping it for a while. Once I heard a saying : Recycle, use what you have!  So, I am glad that this bark can be used as an unique container.

Here were the same style using same Aspidistra and Philodendron (these are house plants). Toad lily seed pod and different kinds of flowers were all from my garden.
Day lily, Mardi Gras Helenium (Glass container inside the bark)


Sedum, cattail grass (other side of the bark container)
Crape myrtle, Anemone, Cattail grass

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Combined, Free Style Arrangement

The round shaped basket I made a long time ago using honey sucker vine. As you can see now, I combined this with a tall square bamboo basket. It looked nice to have these two containers paired together as one whole arrangement.

Materials: Azalia, Mardi Gras Helenium, Sedum and Toad lily seed pod / baskets


Mardi Gras Helenium 

sedum 
toad lily seed pod

Sunday, August 30, 2020

It’s A Beautiful Day

This picture has nothing to do with orchids or ikebana.
I was looking out through my window this morning, I saw three ladies riding horses, gracefully passing by in front of my house. The gorgeous and fall like weather is perfect for strolling.


Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Summer Cattleya Bloom

I have only one Cattleya orchid bloom for this month, but I am still happy and satisfied because there will always be another bloom every month, no interruption.
I checked my previous posts for this orchid, and it evidently blooms every year around this time.
8/16/2020, lime color
8/18/2020 (no name)
8/23/2020, in full bloom, pleasant fragrant 

8/23/2020, I remembered these two plants were divided from
the same plant as above

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Pokeweed Berry as Ikebana Material

Midsummer already! If you take a walk in the open field or along the road side, you will discover a lot of Pokeweed berries. I am thinking about using it as my Ikebana material this time.
For my arrangement, I tilted the ceramic vase on two bamboo rings to stabilize, together it looks a bit more interesting and beautiful!
materials: crape myrtle, pokeweed berry and wood branch






with black back ground
I found at flea market

Sunday, August 16, 2020

Ikebana at Home - Using Japanese Anemone

Since the COVID - 19 Pandemic out break, it seems there is no light at the end of tunnel in the near future.  We have to find a way to keep ourselves busy and stay well. Let daily life be as normal as possible! Doing Ikebana is one way to keep my brain active, but not physically, unfortunately!

I read somewhere: Using baskets as containers is usually for summer time or not for so formal arrangements.
Japanese Anemone, iris leaves and crape myrtle

front view


Japanese Anemone (perennial)
Japanese Anemone 

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Summer flower Arrangement

Summer is here! The pink and red of Crape myrtle are blooming beautifully in my front and back yard. More summer flowers are Rose of Sharon. These two kinds of flowers are my ikebana materials, then I selected a silver metal container to complete this arrangement.
 the green leaves are iris and boxwood
without the long iris leave
rose of Sharon
crape myrtle

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Arrangement with Paper Sculpture

This swirl shape paper sculpture we learned from Hata Sensei’s class lesson last November and used it to make an arrangement for the first time. (Please check 2019 November blog)
Here is my second time using it with hydrangea which are still available from my garden.
Material: hydrangea, statice, boxwood, dried and green branches
show detail for this ceramic container