Flowers in Japanese style - ikebana display in Oxford

[wongkk]

On Sunday, I visited an exhibition by the Oxford Ikebana Study Group (I don't belong to this but do like flowers!) and thought that people might be interested to see some examples of the varied displays on offer.  There was a haiku theme - each display had a card with a printed haiku which had been used to suggest the shape, colour and texture of

Comments

[ditch_gospel]

Very elegant. I think the second from top is my favourite, with the white blossoms in the water bowl.

Thank you for the postcard from the textile museum, by the way. The room pictured looks like a good room for serving and sharing some nice tea.

I hope all is well with you!

[wongkk]

Oh dear - that sounds as though you haven't received my birthday card/tiny packet yet? That's a shame - I posted it in what I thought was good time for 20th :=( I hope that you enjoyed a good day.

Ah yes, the whole of that Claverton Manor building (especially the terrace) would be most suitable for serving tea. Several teas, in fact!

I am in good health, thank you, but suffering from an inability to say, "no" to extra kung fu, extra movies/exhibitions (such as the ikebana) and RL social jollities. Meanwhile the garden is reaching a challenging period - weeds grow, flowers need staking, grass needs de-mossing etc etc - and time vanishes like water down an insatiable plug-hole!

Thank you for telling me which was your favourite. I think I like the black moon arrangement best though it's a tough decision to make. Have you ever tried doing anything like this yourself?

[ditch_gospel]

Oh! No, I haven't received your packet, but I will be stalking the mailbox, now. Both Canada Post and Royal Mail are usually pretty reliable, so I'm not worried that it's lost. And I did have a good day, thank you. I got to eat tasty food and some cake.

I'm glad to hear that you have the time to enjoy these things and are keeping busy in a good way. You must be in such good shape from all the kung fu!

De-mossing the grass? Is the moss harmful to the grass, or does it just make the yard look ill-kempt?

The black moon arrangement is nice, too. I also like the photographic effect you used to make the image look like a painting. No, I haven't ever attempted a flower arrangement. When I had a small garden, I never liked to cut the flowers. But when I was a kid I made weed bouquets.

[wongkk]

Too get too excited - it's a tiny offering though I was pleased to find the card which I hope you'll like. I expect that the post is reliable but I clearly need to allow more time. I mailed it out on the 12th as I thought that a week should be enough time - not so it seems

[ditch_gospel]

Even a card is worth getting excited about. I'll look forward to it.

Oh, your garden is gorgeous. So much colour already! The path looks so inviting. What a lovely private retreat right in your own back yard. A photo of the rhododendrons would be appreciated, if you get around to it.

I think you explained the moss issue just fine. Good luck correcting the problem! You seem quite knowledgeable about such things.

[wongkk]

I hope that you do receive your prickly little birthday card soon.

The garden is looking nice - if you can catch it inbetween the rain! Sadly the last thundery downpours yesterday have knocked some of the rhododendron flowers off but I think there's a photo on the toy camera from Monday which might be OK. I'll hope to get to it at the weekend.

We have a public holiday here on Monday (it used to be a celebration of the old church holiday Pentecost which was called Whitsun but the government renamed it the Late Spring Bank Holiday which is a bit meaningless and uncelebratory - might as well call it Extra Monday Off!) so I'm looking forward to being able to spend a bit more time enjoying the garden. I'm not sure if I'm particularly knowledgeable but I do like things that grow and it's lovely to watch plants really thrive.

[ditch_gospel]

It arrived!! The little hedgehog is so cute and I like the matching note book. My sister gave me a bunch of bento stuff not so long ago, so the picks go well with go nicely with everything else. Thank you, KK!

Speaking of hedgehogs, do you ever get them hunting slugs in your garden? We don't have them at all over here in Canada. They would be cute to see.

A thundery downpour sounds cool. Haven't really had one yet over here, so I'm still waiting. I like storms, but it is sad to see the flowers ruined.

[wongkk]

As you're interested, I might as well show you this shot, taken about 2 weeks ago - you can see the red rhododendron just starting to show its colours on the right:

[ditch_gospel]

Beautiful! So many flowers and trees and a wonderful big green space. Lucky you! Enjoy your Extra Monday Off in the garden.