Tuesday 15 May 2012

May flowers

 There are still plenty of flowers in the garden this month. We have had one or two light frosts but nothing too serious, so there isn't much dieback yet. Still lots of seedheads and berries.

This month I tried my hand at ikebana flower arranging. I read a book which got me inspired - I love the sculptural aspect of the arrangements, and the fact that they are always seasonal and inspired by what is growing in the garden at the time. You also don't need very many stems or blooms. 

This is my attempt at a slanting moribana arrangement, using azalea branches, chrysanthemums and an unknown shrub with red berries (it was growing over the neighbour's fence).

The berries are hiding away behind the flowers - they are better viewed from above! The arrangement has been fresh for nearly two weeks now, though I may need to replace the flower heads soon.

What's blooming in your garden this month? For more inspiration, check out Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

13 comments:

  1. Very beautiful!
    Happy Garden bloggers' Bloom Day!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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  2. I haven't tried Ikebana but then arranging in the garden is what I most truly love. Yours looks great. Love the arching branch. Also, May means something very different there in NZ doesn't it. What is your favorite month? January? For blooms that is.

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    1. Yes May is batten-down-the-hatches month. It's getting cold at night but the real frosts haven't quite set in yet. But you know they are close.
      My favourite month is probably February/March, that's always when my garden is at it's fullest and there is lots for picking. I love summer!

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  3. I've never heard of Ikebana but it sure looks like it's a very enjoyable type of floral art and so pretty looking

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    1. Thanks Rosie, I'm enjoying the ikebana and it is a really good way to hilight flowers when you only have a couple of decent blooms to pick!

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  4. I never heard of that before, very beautiful. You are right a living sculpture--you are pretty good at it ,too!... :-) Robbie

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    1. I don't know if I'm good so much as enthusiastic... however that is carrying me along for now!

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  5. I have always wanted to learn how to arrange flowers in the Ikebana style. These are lovely. And I really like your collage.

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    1. I have a good book which is helping me, Ikebana: A Fresh Look at Japanese Flower Arranging by Diane Norman & Michelle Cornell. I'll do a review on it some time. I wouldn't have managed the arrangement without some guidance!

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  6. Beautiful! What is the bloom on the right column, second down from the top? And the berries below that?

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    1. The bloom is actually a dahlia, I think it is a seedhead (?) which opened up. The little white berries are sorbus (rowan), I picked them from some trees on a street verge and am going to try and grow my own from the seeds!

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    2. A dahlia... I should have known. ^_^ Good luck on your sorbus!

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